Lover's Respite
by Roarrk
Summary: Love is something special. Something that should be treasured and worshiped. For Blu and Jewel, who are still just embarking on their trip, love holds many surprises both good and bad. - Now with an Alt. Ending -
1. Nightmare

In those final moments before Blu had caught Jewel after hurling himself out of the crashing plane, he had saw the fear in the eyes of the one he had loved. As if out of sheer desperation Blu 'willed' himself to catch Jewel and hold her as if he'd throw away everything just for a few last seconds to be with her.

But something was wrong. Blu never met his lover and instead he plunged right past her and into the dark abyss of the water. The veil of shadows sent out tendrils that grabbed him and pulled him deeper in the depths. Tossing and flailing he futilely fought against the barren expanse in the dark recess of his mind.

Then reality came and smacked him back to truth. Light enveloped him as he woke up panting. He quickly shot a glance at his surroundings and realized he was still safe in the aviary. To his left lay his crush, the bird of his dreams, sound asleep. Glad it was just a dream Blu let out a giant sigh as he fell on his back and studied his partner, recalling the ordeal he just experienced.

Blu sat still, captivated by her beauty. Jewel, the bird he loved, the bird he would die for, peacefully sleeping next to him. He loved her and his love was reciprocated just the same. Blu's act in saving Jewel was out of love, not courage. Nothing was courageous about it, he gave away his life to forever be with Jewel no matter how much time they had...

And he did this out of sheer love. True love by every meaning of the definition, and it only took a span of less than 24 hours for him to achieve this love. That's why it was reciprocated. Jewel had understood this fully from the exact moment they met and their bodies touched in mid fall.

* * *

-(Blu)-

"Morning Blu." Jewel perked up. "Mhm, Good Morning!" I acknowledged, Standing straight up to greet her.

It had been a rough 12 hours of sleep since the day that changed my life. Eager to see what life had in store, I walked out to the edge of the small hollow to glance outside and gather my thoughts. We were extremely exhausted from the previous day's endeavors. Almost dieing and all.

Turning my full attention to her, "Hows the wing?" I inquired, fearing that she might not be able for fly for some time.

"Its still extremely sore, I can't wait to get this cast off," she gestured to her left wing. "Anyways, it just gives us time to plan out what's next for us." She let out a bright smile waiting for my reaction.

Strange how I didn't even notice the cast, her eyes and natural radiance always drew my full attention. But then what she said actually sank in.

"Plans?" I chirped nervously, "Wh-what kinda plans?" feeling heat surge to my cheeks. She couldn't of been hinting at children already. I mean, when I can count the number of days we've known each other with one talon, the term 'rushing' was an understatement!

Letting off a simple laugh that melted my heart, "Oh nothing Blu, we'll get to that." Shooting me a innocent look she added, "First things first though, let's try and find some food." I was still unsure, but brushed the comment off the second I realized how hungry I was.

Noticing both of our stomachs, we set out to find something to satisfy our needs. Jewel noticeably staying closer to me (due to her still not trusting humans) as we progressed out of our enclosure into the treatment room for some nourishment. We met up with Tulio who was on his way to check up on us, plate in hand.

Beaming brightly at us, he lowered the plate of regular bird seed to which me and Jewel just looked at each other before giving him a questionable look. Shrugging his arms above his head Tulio noticed our gazes and exclaimed "What? It's all we've got! plus it's healthy for you." he went on, trailing off, as he turned away to tackle his next chore.

"Well, it can't be that bad. I'll try it first!" I said trying to impress Jewel. Diving head first, I started gouging away at the food bowl before a bitter taste filled my mouth and forced me cough so hard I nearly convulsed. While still edible the food was by far the worst thing imaginable, and I wondered who could have made such an abomination.

Laughing Jewel leaned in and asked "Haha, not that bad huh?"

"Well it could be worse.." but the truth was, it probably couldn't have been.

After forcing down what little we could to pacify what hunger we had we returned to our domain.

* * *

"What did you mean earlier?" I worked up the courage to ask finally.

"About what?" Jewel asked as she perched down to relax her wing. "A-about these 'plans' y-you mentioned" I asked shyly. I know we are kinda forced to be together, but what does that exactly entail?

"Well, I was thinking.." Jewel said, obviously hinting at something but I didn't pick up on it.

"Thinking about what?" I asked fearing for what she might say

She just rolled her eyes and continued,"About returning to the jungle, to live out our lives"

Just the mere thought of the jungle sent shivers down my spine. It was probably the equivalent of what Jewel experiences in a place like this. It would be me out of my natural habitat - civilization - plus I didn't even know the first thing to surviving in the real world. I mean such things as food and shelter! Where was i going to get my food? Cereal boxes just don't grow on trees!

Seeing the paleness in my expression she scooted closer in attempt to comfort me, which only made me insecure. "What's wrong Blu?" she asked trying to decipher what message i was sending out.

"N-nothing, nothing! Everything's perfect. It's just, I guess i haven't thought about that ye-" she cut me off with a kiss. Sheer bliss shot through me as my heart picked up the pace. Reopening my eyes from where they closed in shock at her gesture I stared deep into her eyes, captivated. Still not fully understanding her reasoning behind the sudden passion, I repositioned my footing.

Smiling, "Blu everything will be okay, we are ma- Love birds after all!" she reassured me. I returned her smile, half embarrassed and still unsure, and sat gazing into her deep sapphire eyes.

* * *

-(3rd Person)-

After of what felt like an eternity of their own company, not that they minded at all, the couple finally decided to take action and make something of the day.

Hatching a clever idea for some change in scenery, Blu started,"Hey Jewel, mind taking me to where you were trying to break out," remembering their first meeting in the very room they sat in.

"Sure, but i don't know why it matters at this point."

You'll see very soon, but I am even starting to get tired of this room. Blu thought to himself.

As they approached the ventilation duct Blu readied himself up and began to tackle the small obstacle forcing his weight down and he pushed up, successfully widening the gap. After observing his handiwork he gestured forward, "After you," he said with a smile.

"Oh no, no, you first," Jewel said deferring to Blu "Oh please, I insist," Blu politely mustered, the both of them shrugged at the same time and bumped heads.

"We have gotta stop doing that," Jewel said almost laughing ecstatically.

"Then might I be the gentleman? Ladies first," Blu said proudly as he bowed.

* * *

Navigating through the ventilation shaft took some time. The vent was a convoluted maze that lead to each room, but after a short while the couple found themselves on the roof, admiring the beauty of Rio.

After a short while the couple heard a familiar voice "Hey Blu!" the couple turned to see their favorite little canary Nico accompanied by his buddy Pedro

"How you two Lovebirds been?" Nico asked flashing them suggestive looks

"Yea! We didn't realize we left you two back after our charge of FREEDOM!" Pedro shouted pumping his little wing in the air.

After explaining the full story, blushing on the part where they kissed, Blu managed to work through their whole ordeal up until that point.

"Sounds like quite the thrill ride!" Nico said leaning up to Blu. "And who knew all it would take was a kiss to get out little Love hawk off the ground."

"So what brings you two to this part of town?" Jewel asked as she exchanged looks with the three male birds.

"We were just on our way to take-it-up a notch," Pedro said elevating himself higher with each emphasized word. "Oh yea," Nico said pointing in agreement. "So are you in?" he asked with the happiest grin his small face could possibly produce.

"W-well uh, you see, Jewel has an injury as you know, so uh, mayb-," "Im fine! Of course we will go, Blu will carry me there," Jewel interjected as she shot an interesting glance towards Blu.

"Great you two! Let's go!" Nico shouted as he took to the sky. Carefully, Blu picked Jewel off the ground, trying his best not to further hurt her wing, and in much similar manner to how he carried her the first time, followed the two birds to the night club.

* * *

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think, any type of feed back helps!**


	2. Dance Club Disaster

From the outside, a small roar was all that gave away the clubs radiance. Night had passed on through and the four birds had found themselves about to enter their destination. Reluctantly Blu eyed Jewel's left wing wondering how she was going to cope with it.

"Did you really mean what you said? Blu?" Nico asked drawing his attention away from Jewel

"About what? Samba?" Blu asked quizzically

"Yea, that you 'hated' Samba."

"W-well," Blu started as everyone's attention shot straight to him. "I said that in the heat of the moment. Samba music to me is just fine!" Blu hoped his excuse had gotten him off the hook

"... Just fine?" Pedro asked with an offended tone "Just fine? You mean you don't like it?"

"Well, I, uhh." Blu stuttered, defeated, as he searched for an apologetic answer. The truth was actually the samba that Blu and Jewel had danced to unlocked something in him. Samba was in his blood, Blu just hadn't realized it himself.

Noticing the discomfort of her lover Jewel stepped in, "Let's quit wasting time out here and head inside. She exchanged glares to both Nico and Pedro and urged the group into the club.

* * *

Once inside the most noticeable feature was the ambience. The house was alive and flourishing. Drinks were now being passed around as it was a later time of day then what it was the first time they visited this club. This added a whole level of intensity to the atmosphere, and the temptations to conform and confide within alcohol were great.

Blu who had never drank in his whole life was giving quite a long thought to the whole drinking idea, as out of all the things he had risked trying in the past 48 hours alcohol didn't seem near as scary.

"So whats the big deal behind getting drunk?" Blu asked innocently

"Let me take you up to the bar so you can find out, Blu." Pedro said as he separated the two Spix Macaws.

Out of sheer protest Jewel gave an angry look at the obese bird and started to argue but was drown out by the crowd as Blu was pulled away from her. Annoyed she gave up on the fight, deciding to let Blu do his own adventuring. She then turned to start chatting and dancing with strangers, pacifying herself for the time being.

At the bar Blu was astonished by all the drinks that were available to him. Curious he gazed at the multitude of colorful drinks wondering what surprises they held for him. While he had read and known the effects of alcohol, he decided that tonight was special was ready to try anything. Caving in, he decided to quench his thirst.

"What will you be having?" Blu asked as he shot Pedro a friendly smile

"Two Mango Martinis bartender!" Pedro called as Nico settled in."Make that three!"

Regretfully, Blu scanned the club for Jewel and found her admiring the music and talking to a few other birds. Well, she is preoccupied at the moment. He figured as his attention turned to the unique looking drink that was placed in front of him. Letting logic and doubts at the window, Blu went to town.

Martinis coupled with a few shots was enough to send this low tolerance drinker on the brinks of insanity. The club started to change as the walls pulsated to the beat of the music. The experience could only be described as a dance party in a beating heart. A seren sence of euphoria overtook Blu as he left the bar to find the love of his life.

* * *

~(Jewel)~

After being ditched by my friends I found myself lost in the music. Minding my hurt wing I explored the dance floor and after some time I noticed Blu stumbling towards me. A disoriented-euphoric look on his face as he smiled at me dumbly.

Being the bird im in love with, I doubted he would allow himself to get as far.. gone? as he was. It was so unlike him and it almost upset me that he did such a thing. Then the unthinkable happened.

Grabbing my good wing he spun me around and bowed as he held me slightly above the ground. I was focused on the ground, not wanting to be dropped, as the drunken love struck bird greeted me with his beak. Alcohol guiltily on his breath, the kiss was not something that I enjoyed as much as I usually did.

"Blu what are you doing?" I asked surprise by his forwardness. Which might I add, as awkward as he was, his geniality allowed him to be the most open bird you could ever meet. A trait which drove me madly in love.

"I feel like dancin'." He exclaimed over the roar of the crowd and music. Picking me back up he did a full 360, almost falling in the process, and started shaking his wings around with no mind to his surroundings. Letting his heart take control he let go of all his composure and started repeatedly chanting with the beat "I - Love you - Jewel!"

Blushing I pulled him in and danced what I could with my impaired wing. An obvious tone down in speed then before, but at that moment I didn't mind. Obviously overcome with drunkenness, Blu lost his self control as he went for a bow but decided to drop me on my back and fall on top of me, kissing me with so much passion I would have allowed it had we not been in the club. It was obvious what he was trying to do and when people started noticing, I was forced to buck him off.

Searching for Nico and Pedro I grabbed Blu and made way to the door. Embarrassment was an understatement as I passed by everyone who noticed us. Being my only means of air travel, my intoxicated love bird and I were forced to embark our way home on foot.

"Jewel-sh I don't feel so good," Blu muttered the second he set foot outside the beating club as the colder air washed over us. It had now become pitch black save for the street lights every block. Letting Loose Blu convulsed all over the side walk informing me of his true burdensome state.

"Come on Blu," I said, suddenly angry with him. "Lets get back to the aviary, it was a mistake to come out here," tears starting to flow from my eyes.

"B-but I.. I..." Blu stuttered as he searched his head for the right sentence. "Im gonna go to sleep" he murmered with a smile as he closed his eyes and started dancing slowly side to side. I reach out my wing to snag his up and pull him along.

"I love you Jewel." Blu said in a half sober tone, then he continued to dance to himself as we walked. Humming every song that was played that night, we started our two hour hike of shame up hill to the aviary.

* * *

-(3rd person)-

That morning, Blu rose from his stupor alone. Not remembering anything after taking a few shots and martinis he searched his hollow for Jewel, to whom he hoped would give an explanation. Jewel, exasperated with having to deal with Blu the night before, had climbed to the top most possible point of their enclosure as to avoid contact with others. She had salty dry cheeks from crying herself through the night.

"Morning Jewel!" Blu said with a jubilant smile which died soon after she failed to respond to him.

"Jewel? Jewel whats wrong?" Blu asked half surprised half shocked by her reaction (or lack thereof).

"Don't.. Don't ever do that to me again." Jewel whispered harshly.

"Wh-wait what happened?" Blu asked suddenly feeling an urgent sense of regret.

Jewel turned to face him and realized he had not remembered a single thing from the previous night. Anger subsiding she responded "Nothing.. Just forget about it."

"Jewel I.." Blu tried, lost for words, his eyes searching the room as if something around him would give him an answer. "I dont know what to say. Did I hurt you?"

Seeing the obvious concern in her lover's eyes she started to regret her initial hostile tone. "You didn't hurt me at all Blu, I just.. I need a hug." She said sadly as she looked up to meet his beaming eyes.

Confused Blu held her tenderly, his mind racing through all the possibilities but for some reason, alcohol wasn't the one he put at fault. In Blu's mind he had enjoyed his experience and without the blame being put on alcohol, it registered as 'good' in his mind.

"We arn't going back to the club for a while," Jewel stated sternly, glaring holes into his eyes.

Shyly, Blu broke the minute long silence "Lets find some food. Hopefully this time Tulio wont bring us that horrible feed." He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Sure, I'd like that." Jewel smiled back at him as the two descended the fake trees and made way for the exit.

* * *

**I felt like I captured the characters better in this chapter. Starting the story pretty early with conflict lets just assume that Blu and Jewel really did fall head over heels from everything that happened in the movie.**

**By the way, how am i doing? Review, any critique helps!**


	3. Forever With You

Through a surge of luck that lightened the mood Tulio had treated the two birds to mangos. Jewel in particular enjoyed the food as it took her mind off the past night's events. Both Blu and Jewel sat in silence finishing their delectable meal, both enjoying the others company. This was a well needed peaceful break from the action packed two days that the couple had known eachother. Jewel especially yearned for some quiet time as she realized how truly tired her body was from everything.

"Blu lets stay in today," Jewel said as she scooted closer to him. Nervousness building, Blu just smiled and nodded his head. "Right, we both could use a good rest... How do you feel about everything?" Blu questioned stupidly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, about the whole 'us' thing. How we are the... last of the species." Blu blushed as he remembered his foolish first encounter with Jewel, and how far they've come in such a short time since then.

"I don't know. Guess the thought hasn't sank in fully." Jewel said looking down in deep thought before pain streaked across her face. "Its strange though, how neither of us have any family to go to for support. Now that you mention it, its a lonely feeling." Saddness filled her eyes suddenly and Blu felt guilty for bringing up the subject.

"You have me." Blu said reassuringly trying to help her feel better, "Im your family now."

Turning her attention to Blu she smiled slowly, grateful for his company and companionship. She reached out and grabbed him in a loving embrace before pulling away and staring into his eyes.

"And besides," Blu went on "Linda will be a part of our family. She is the one who can love and support us both."

Reassured, Jewel sat cuddling with her future mate. Sheer happiness is all that could be used to describe her feelings in that moment. While the thought was far off in both of their minds the reality was they were both thinking about kids, a real family they both could share. The thought also scared both of them, but for different reasons.

Blu, was not only scared by the aspect of mating itself, but the whole future seemed bleak to him. Raising a family, living in the jungle, and being away from Linda. He had been able to satisfy his desire to be with Linda by Jewel's company, but he still missed her. It was similar to a son moving away from his mom who had taken care of him all his life. Still, Blu loved Jewel, and as long as she was with him he felt safe.

Jewel, on the other hand was scared at the sacrifices having kids took. She loved her freedom, almost as much as Blu, and was content with sharing her freedom with him. The two of them was all that she ever needed, but the aspect of a family along with the pressure of being the last two Spix Macaws was enough to make her yearn for more. Strange how their views both did a complete 180. When Blu had first encountered Jewel he had the intention of mating, an act that Jewel now desired but Blu strayed away from. Jewel was also scared for Blu, his view on sharing a family, whether or not it was something he wanted. She had to probe his brain to see how he felt about the whole idea.

"Blu, how do you think Eva and Rafael put up with seventeen children?" she asked, choosing her words to keep the focus off kids of their own.

"Well... There is no possible way I would ever watch over seventeen plus one kids. But I'd have to give it to them, they sure have 'some' endurance." he joked. The both of them giggled it off and then sat admiring each other's presence. Jewel was thankful for her time alone with Blu. If nothing else ever had to happen she was content. In this moment of peacefulness and solitude she could picture a bright future with multiple kids.

"I have to admit something though, Jewel." Blu started, "I-I am scared. The fact that we are the last two of our kind can not be taken lightly. There are more then three smugglers with a crazed demon bird in this world. That's not even acknowledging the fact that we'd be living in the jungle! I don't even know two things when it comes to survival in the jungle. There are so many dangers in this world, how am I suppose to take care of you, let alone myself?"

This surprised Jewel. For starters, Blu was truly scared. He had a right to be. The jungle was a place he had never grown up in, and it was an extremely unforgiving place. The real world was in fact cruel, but what had surprised Jewel the most was how he worded his last sentence. Blu put 'her' before himself. Jewel was never one to trust anybody, being alone most of her life and having what she loved taken away from her. She didn't understand this concept because this was the first time she had ever encountered it. The mere thought of Blu sacrificing himself for her both, scared her beyond any imaginable feeling or thought, and sent a feeling of true genuine love, one that she didn't consider possible, coursing through her. It was in that moment she realized that if Blu had ever really died, she couldn't live with herself; But by the same train of thought it went against everything she stood for. Jewel never wanted to belong to someone, she wanted freedom, she wanted to be by herself.

Conflicted and torn between freedom and Blu, Jewel sat in deep thought. This was the first time in her life that she had ever felt a profound feeling of being wanted and wanting back and yet, regret at how all of her ideals and mentalities went against every fibre that brought the two together as a couple. Tears started rolling down her face as her emotions took the driver's seat.

Seeing the site of his love crying after what he said was not reassuring in the least, in fact it scared him even more than before. Trying to snap Jewel back to reality, Blu reached out with his wings to grab her shoulders. "Are you ok?" Blu asked, concern and fear clearly in his eyes.

"Yea it's just... I-I love you Blu, you silly old bird! I don't know how else to put it or how to even think about it." She said searching Blu's deep chocolate eyes. All her life she treasured freedom and self preservation over everything else. The thought of someone, to whom she met not even a week ago, laying down their life for her sent her into a tornado of emotions.

"I love you too Jewel. Even though the future may be cloudy, as long as I have you, I'll be happy." The two of them locked beaks as passion sparked between them. Just the comfort of each other took their minds off the worries and uncertainties of the future. After pulling away, reluctantly albeit, the couple sat back staring at the ceiling conversing about more light-hearted subjects.

The two's conversation went on for hours. Blu for the most part was diving into his past life with Linda, and after a while the two made plans to go visit her for the remainder of the day. Blu, excited to fully introduce the two beings that made up his whole life, went to try and somehow inform Tulio of their plans.

The car drive was rather painless and quite enjoyable. The couple sat in eachother's company basking in the mid day sun as the wind swept around them. It was no substitute for flying but did them both some good. The city of Rio served as a good change of scenery away from their enclosure. When the car pulled into an apartment complex that was Linda's temporary dwelling the two helped eachother out and followed Tulio to the door.

Linda was quick to answer her door as she was informed of their visit via phone call.

"Blu! Jewel! Glad you to could come by!" Linda exclaimed as she and Blu exchanged their secret handshake. "Thanks for bringing them by Tulio."

"No problem! Just be sure to bring them back before dark. Jewel has an important day tomorrow." He said, winking at Jewel.

"Sure thing. Thanks again." And Tulio had departed.

_Important day? What could that mean?_ Jewel wondered to herself as she joined Blu on the couch where he was perched. The couple shared their lunch that was comprised of various fruits and sat with Linda who was watching movies.

"So what is this thing Blu?" Jewel questioned.

"Its called a TV. It plays shows and movies that are usually quite entertaining." Blu explained with a friendly smile.

"A Tee-Vee huh? Whats going on here?"

Blu went on, casually explaining the story of the shows they watched so Jewel could understand what was going on. All of this was so foreign to her that it amazed her how much Blu truly knew.

"So Jewel when are you expecting?" Linda blurted out randomly. The two birds, shocked, gave her empty wide eyed stares. "Do you mean you two haven't mated yet?" Linda asked, surprised herself as she considered the fact that maybe these birds were more complex then most animalistic stereotypes.

Blu gave her a negatory squak and shook his head. He gave Jewel a nervous smile and snuggled closer to her, retuning to the movie. Before the trio could realize, Darkness had swept over and Linda drove the couple back to the Aviary.

* * *

~(Jewel)~

For starters, let me be the first to say that I love Blu. I love that goofy little bird with his goofy antics and massive intelegence. The best part being I knew he loved me too, more then I probably know. This was not what scares me. What truly brings fear and keeps me up at night longer then usual stay up is the fact that I know how selfish I am. Blu would devote his whole life to me, he would die for me and sacrifice everything. He would give more then what he had for _me._

The reason why Im so caught up on this is because I am scared, scared because I know I could never bring myself to do the same. I could never make the same sacrifices if it ment taking my own life. However the fact that I truly love him, and I do, tears me apart because I can't physically bring myself to be so cruel to the bird I love. Thats when I realize, despite what other people think, I am not 'too good' for Blu. He is the one that is too good for me.

Content with our laid back day, Blu and I found ourselves alone again in our hollow. He was huddled in a corner on the brink of passing out before I laid next to him and laid my wing over his.

"I love you Blu." I said probing him to start a conversation with me.

"I see you still have energy" he said smirking, not realizing the full extent of what he said.

I could tell he was tired, so mating was a non-option. That, and we had only known eachother for three days. As much as I craved his 'attention' I restrained myself and decided to let our relationship grow.

"Today was nice," I informed him.

"Very restful," He murmured, half asleep.

Feeling bold, and adventurous I went in for a deep kiss. We locked beaks for what seemed like an eternity. Sensuous feelings vibrated between us before we had to pull away for oxygen. This action woke Blu back up as he took a few seconds to break and let the gesture sink in before pulling me in for another.

This was by far the greatest feeling I've ever felt. My heart fluttered as our beaks remained locked, but to my great disappointment Blu ended our connection and returned to himself. Not looking sure of himself he nervously choked "J-Jewel. I don't think Im ready for kids yet."

"What do you mean Blu?"

"I... I mean Im not ready," he said, defeated.

"Blu we were just kissing, I love you. And besides, we can work through anything." I reassured, straightening up his face to link eyes. "Blu we are just starting this relationship, we shouldn't rush it anyways. I agree with you."

He smiled back at me. "Th-thanks Jewel."

"Don't thank me, its what mat- I mean love birds do." I finished, hugging him sincerely.

As much as I wanted him, and I really really wanted him. I withheld true feelings and let my mind start to wander. Many fantasies came to mind, such as perhaps getting him irrefutably drunk, but as silly as this was the only thing I could do now was wait and enjoy my time with him.

"Thank you," he kissed me on my forehead multiple times as if saying 'thank you, thank you, thank you, thanks for choosing me, thanks for being with me.' Just his mere touch sent me in a spiral of joy, and in this moment, I was happy again.

* * *

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	4. Back In The Cage

Smoke and ash clouded the air as Jewel frantically put distance between her and the Aviary. Turning to see flames engulfing she was in complete shock at what she was seeing. More importantly where was he?

Before she could imagine a plausible outcome as to what happened to Blu, she heard a desperate squawk for help.

"Jewel! Help me!" Blu cried as he pounded on the glass window from inside the burning building.

"Blu! Hold on I'm on my wa-" but before she could finish the roof collapsed on top of where Blu had previously been, leaving a small explosion of fire erupting from the remains. Tears started flowing from Jewel as she could only watch terrified.

_No, no!_ she thought._ I have to try and help him!_

But fear elated its victory over her self control, and leaving all love behind, she let logic take her wings in retreat. She flew with tears in her eyes, straight into the jungle passing multitudes of trees as she descended into the darkness of her insanity.

* * *

"Jewel? Jewel wake up!" Blu said shaking his lover awake. Jewel was still crying when she opened her eyes to meet him. Immediately she jumped up and grabbed Blu, hugging him like never before. The nightmare had taken an immense emotional toll, to which Jewel was still recovering from.

"Blu, I-I don't know where I'd be without you. I was so scared... I.." She stopped, lost for words. The nightmare was still fresh on her mind. Her body still trembling with the horrors she witnessed.

Completely puzzled by what happened to his mate, Blu patted her on the back trying to reassure her. "There there.. It was just a dream. You're safe now with me."

Jewel burst out in a sobbing fit as she cursed herself. She knew, deep down, that she couldn't live without Blu. So why hadn't she sacrificed everything to save him in her dream? She felt severely undeserving of Blu's company. No matter what way she looked at it, she hated herself for it. She hated her desire of self preservation and freedom. She hated how weak she was and all of this reflected in her tears.

Blu was always so loving towards Jewel. From the split second they met Blu was nothing but supportive to her, and only in her deep nightmares could she picture life without him. It pained her to think of such things, but what truly scared her was the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about them, the horrors of her sleep. Jewel cried. She held Blu with all of her heart and strength, never wanting to let go.

Not able to continue watching the love of his life cry, Blu managed to urge her to pursue breakfast. It tore Blu's heart too much to see her cry and aside from that, both of their stomachs were growling profusely.

Tulio had greeted the two birds at their miniature door with a bowl of assorted fruits. Oblivious to what had occurred he gestured towards Jewel, "Today's your big day!" he said with enthusiasm. "Sorry Blu, but I'm going to have Jewel away for a few hours."

Jewel looked to Blu with extreme concern, to which Blu smiled and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Its for your wing." Blu said with a loving smile.

"But what will you do?" Jewel asked worried about Blu.

"Aww, don't worry about me! Besides, I'll be here when you get out."

By this time Jewel was now in Tulio's hands, enroute to the medical facility. Blu wasn't sure how he'd spend his day without Jewel, but he had a couple of ideas to pass the time. Blu gave one last glance towards Jewel before he made way back to his room.

* * *

-(Blu)-

As much as I love peace and solitude, being without Jewel was pretty hard. Strange how things like that happen though, how we've only know each other for three, going on four days. I often wonder to myself, logically how can two birds fall in love with each other just in one day? Was love at first sight actually true? Or is our relationship a mere hoax?

Either way, I missed her smile and touch already... Whatever, I could use this down time to catch up on some reading.

Remembering when I stashed the couple of books Linda had brought the night she left me here, I quickly opened one up and delve deep into the contents of the book.

"Peace and quiet," I said to myself as I relaxed down and enjoyed the book. This moment was perfect. Well, almost perfect. The only true perfect moment I could imagine would be that time we were both on the train car. If only that had been successful; Speaking of which we should totally do it again.

"BLU!" Two familiar voices called startling me half to death. I had kicked the book away from me out of sheer surprise.

"Blu my man!" Nico called almost busting out laughing, "Didn't mean to scare you."

Recovering from my near heart attack, I stood up straight and greeted the two. "So what brings you two here." I smiled questioningly, "In fact, how'd you even get in here?"

"We saw you two climb out of the vent on the roof the other night, remember?" Pedro said as he beckoned with a wing, "Come on, where's Jewel? We are throwing a huge party today down at the club."

"Oh, well, uh, Jewel has a doctor's check up today." I stuttered out, "So uh, maybe you guys could go on withou-" but before I could finish the two were dragging me by the wings to vent screaming "GUYS NIGHT OUT!"

"YE, we are gonna have a blast tonight Blu! If you thought you were wasted before, tonight you won't remember you beak from your tail!" Pedro exclaimed, and before I knew it I was flying my way on down to the club. I just hope Jewel will understand when I am not there.

* * *

~(Jewel)~

The only thing I had my mind set on was leaving this doctor's clutches and returning to my love. I was a bit afraid at first, being alone surrounded by humans who were all talking about me, but the thought of Blu kept me clear headed.

The doctors did many tests, including X-rays, flexibility tests, and a few shots to which I bit one doctor in retaliation so they ended up holding me down for the rest. I was miserable, the only thing I could look forward to was Blu's loving embrace, his alluring fragrance, and his cute remarks.

"Alright Jewel, let's see how well you can fly." Tulio called before removing the bandages on my wing.

* * *

-(Blu)-

By far the most peculiar thing I've ever done was get drunk. It made everything so surreal, so fuzzy, so dizzy. A warm feeling of happiness takes over all else, removing your problems from your mind and you live in the moment. Everything is good and great, until you black out. You eventually lose control and don't remember a single thing after a certain point.

Tonight was no exception, when I entered the club I planned on drinking. However, unlike the previous night, I was determined to keep my mind in control. But plans don't always turn out ok. The music was so comforting, and I filled the gap in my heart where Jewel was missing with alcohol.

Before I knew it, one drink led to another, and I lost control...

* * *

-(3rd Person)- (due to the fact Blu lost all intelligible thought)

Blu was inexplicably drunk, beyond any recollection of sane thought. He was lost in the moment drunken by a euphoric feeling of happiness. He talked to many people that night, and danced his heart out. Time had passed faster than the drinks that he consumed without a second thought to the outside world.

The heart beat of the club pulsated through every fiber that was Blu. He became part of the club, going along with every rhythm and beat. The alcohol helped unlock his inner attraction towards Samba. Ever since he was a chick Samba was in his blood. Being born in the jungle he was exposed to it, almost as if he was bred for it. It took the past week in Rio to unlock it.

"Alright everybody! I'd like to greet a special guest! A few of you seen him around the past few day, but give it up for the Party Animal: Blu!" Nico called as a spot light shone right at the azure macaw. He was so lost in the moment he threw his wings in the air and danced harder then he had ever before.

Blu became so focused on the pulsating beat. BooM BooM BooM. He tossed his body side to side in a smooth cadence. BooM BooM BooM. CRASH! Blu was still in the drunken moment that hadn't realized the ceiling caved in around him. Cages started flying out capturing birds left and right, and mass hysteria consumed the dance floor.

"Blu look out!" Pedro called desperately, but it was too late. It had been too late even if Blu was sober and now he was standing inside a cage still dancing. "Oh man not good, this is crazy!" Pedro said as he bolted for the closest exit but before he could reach it his captives picked him out and managed to land him in a cage.

Due to his relative small size, Nico was able to stand in the back and avoid danger. Guilt filled his head when he glanced at the now passed out Blu inside the cage. Blu didn't deserve this and more importantly he was scared for Jewel. How could he have done this to the couple? Straightening up his bottle cap, he decided to bide his time and follow the offending human smugglers that had imprisoned his friends.

* * *

"Alright Jewel! It's probably not safe to rely on your wing, but as of now you should only be sore. Give it a day or two and your wing will be back to normal." Tulio commended. "You can go ahead and return to Blu now, if you'd like"

Jewel rolled her eyes and quickly padded off back to her room. She was so relieved to get away from the humans that took up the past few hours of her time. She could use her wing, although it really pained her to, but it was possible and hopefully in a day or two she would have unrestricted use of it. Best of all she was now with Blu.

The second she stepped foot into her artificial jungle something was off. Paying no mind to it, she climbed up to the hollow ready to throw herself and empty her stress into the love of her life. But Blu wasn't here. Questioningly she peaked her head outside the hollow and turned to climb up to the highest point of the room. Blu wasn't here either. Carefully and slowly gliding down on her wing she descended down to the artificial river and walked the length both ways searching. Blu isn't here either...

A sense of impending doom started to fill Jewel as she panicked and called out for him. "Blu? uh, Blu where are you?" ... "Blu this isn't funny! Don't play games on me right now."

_Maybe he went to see Linda for the day, yea, he'll be back any minute!_She thought as she settled down next to the river staring into her reflection.

Seconds passed and turned into minutes. Minutes into an hour, and before long Jewel truly feared the worst and bolted for the door, in search of help.

* * *

**I feel obligated to keep updating just by how short each chapter is. So far you've been too kind on the reviews and I appreciate them all :).**

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	5. Freedom Comes With A Cost

Peculiar how dreams only come to people at strange times. Perhaps they are messages our subconscious sends us to warn us of future events. Maybe its a certain spiritual entity that has our best interests in heart, like spirits of our ancestors. If such things were true, Blu was in luck.

"How could you do this to me Blu?" Jewel said staring straight into Blu's eyes. "How could you leave me?"

"Jewel I, I'm sorry. Things had gotten out of hand, I-I lost control. It wasn't my choice to leave." Blu struggled with his words, a feeling of nausea twisted and turned his stomach out of sheer emotional pain. But he realized he was talking to himself as the apparition of Jewel disappeared. Blu started searching his surroundings for answers but darkness was all that came to him.

_Where am I?_ He thought. Reluctantly, he took a step forward testing the abyss for proper footing. He could hear Jewel's sobbing in the distance and this tore his heart in half. The only thing Blu could think about was finding Jewel, apologizing, and being there for her. Nothing else mattered to him. He lunged himself into the air and flew through the darkness towards the sound.

That's when it hit him. A cage fell on top of him and closed once he was inside. Panic now filled his head as images of his previous night came flooding in a spark of realization. In this moment, Blu broke down and started crying, feeling an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and fear.

_What have I done?_ Blu asked himself. _What have I gotten myself into? Jewel I'm... I'm so sorry_. Words can't explain what Blu felt next. The emotional pain was worst then anything he had ever previously felt. His small feet buckled under him as he doubled over crying.

* * *

"BLU! Wake up!" Pedro stood over Blu, shaking the life out of him as he tried his best to pull Blu back out of the darkness of his temporary insanity. Tears were flowing down his face when he finally came to.

"P-Pedro? Where's Jewel? Where are we?" Blu said half sobbing. Pedro had no answer to him, averting his gaze as he let reality sink into Blu.

And reality did sink into him, alright. The force so strong it left him visibly in pain as he realized the nightmare he just had was reality. Blu quickly observed his surroundings, to find many other birds in cages similar to his and Pedro's. A dull roar of mass hysteria had filled the room with constant panic.

"W-we gotta get out of here!" Blu said trying the locked cage door but to no avail. Pedro just watched as the poor bird rattled around the cage in sobbing fits. He knew what kind of pain he brought on to Blu and he took full responsibility for it. It was destroying Blu mentally and emotionally.

Blu was so riled up that he didn't notice how dehydrated he was until he went into coughing fits. His throat was completely dried up as the alcohol he consumed earlier only served to dehydrate him further. This, in accomplice with hunger that was now settling in, clouded his mind even more. He couldn't think, only panic.

Not being able to stand and watch his friend tear himself apart Pedro intervened. "Blu, chill bird. Stay calm we can find a way out of this like last time."

"Pedro.." Blu coughed, "I really need some water." Pedro's eyes glanced towards the door in which he saw their captors exit. "We'd be lucky to get anything Blu. It's been a couple hours since we were brought here. They were talking about you though. They must know that you're special."

Blu, who was a shell of his former self, gave up. He sank down in a corner in defeat and accepted this. He accepted the fact that there was probably no escape, and in his mental state he was sane enough-half dazed from the fading alcohol, severe dehydration, and mild hunger-to realize he was in no way able to come up with a plan of escape. The only thing that was on his mind was Jewel...

* * *

Jewel was breaking down just the same. Blu was gone, as if he disappeared of the face of the earth. No trace was left of him when she got back to her domain. The revelations of her own dream came back to gnaw at her resolve. Her mind raced as the only person she could think of asking for help was Tulio.

She tried the hatch only to realize it was locked. There was no escape now, thought Jewel. Tears started to swell in her eyes.

_Where was Blu? He would have told me if he planned on leaving. Something must have happened._

Many different scenarios played in her head, each progressively getting worse. It all boiled down to one thing in the end: Escape.

Jewel quickly glanced around the artificial jungle trying to find away before it the solution smacked her in the face. It was so obvious, she thought. The ventilation shaft!

* * *

"Yes sir, we've found the blue macaw." A dark voice rattled out from behind the door that resided in the far corner of the room. Blu's ears perked up as he tried to listen in on the conversation.

"No sir, only one of macaw. Yes we'll bring him tomorrow no problem. Yes, we are still trying to find her. Well how was I suppose to know? She was no where near the catch site... Prazzer fazer negócios" (Pleasure doing business)

The door flung wide open as the man brought out a small bowl of bird seed and a water dispenser meant to attach onto a cage. The man walked straight to Blu's cage and eyed the rare macaw sinisterly.

"You're a very special bird." The man started with a smug look, "See tomorrow, you get a free trip to America. Don't worry, Marcel informed me of your girl friend before he was arrested. Too bad for you, you probably won't see her again! But don't worry, heh, we'll have her too, soon enough." The strange man placed the two necessities into Blu's cage with a smug smile on his face. "I need you alive though buddy, so eat up," he commanded, and with that the man turned away and locked the door.

Blu graciously slurped up the water as fast as he could quenching his thirst in the dusty, dry room. He stopped periodically for gasps of breath and it wasn't until Pedro tapped on his shoulder that he broke his animalistic cravings.

"Um, Blu? Could you save some for me?" Pedro asked sincerely. "Yea sorry, I was just really thirsty," Blu said after gulping down some water.

The two birds nourished themselves before they sat opposite of each other and gathered their thoughts. With new found clarity Blu observed his surroundings. There were no readily available resources within his vicinity, however he quickly devised a plan.

There was a rather large metallic box on a shelf above his own cage. Blu calculated the angles and came up with the conclusion that if he could make the box fall, granted if it had enough weight, it would land right on the flimsy bindings that held the walls of the cage together. That side of the cage would then open right up, allowing him and Pedro to make a hasty get away.

"Alright Pedro, I have an idea but we'll need the help of other birds." Blu said with new found determination. He was sure nothing could stop him from getting back with Jewel and he wouldn't let some stupid evil humans hold him in a cage any longer.

* * *

Jewel stretched her wing, trying to recover from the pain that flying up the vent caused her. She was determined to find Blu, where ever he may be. It took her some time, but she finally made her way back to the roof where her and Blu shared the view of Rio two days ago. It was subtle memories like that, that made her realize how much Blu really meant to her. She couldn't help but worry.

Before she could plan her next course of action she spotted a yellow speck flying towards her.

"Jewel! Jewels! You gotta come quick!" Nico called half exhausted "It's Blu! Him and Pedro were caught."

"Calm down Nico, please just tell me what happened." Jewel said, half relieved she was about to learn what happened and half scared at the aspect that something bad had happened.

Nico landed next to her and frantically retold everything that had happened from the moment Pedro and him picked Blu up at the Aviary, up until the point Nico had trailed the smugglers back to their hide out.

"We've gotta go rescue them!" Nico said half sobbing as he could see the pain in Jewel's expression. Nico felt guilt surge through him as he processed that what was occurring was his and Pedro's fault.

Jewel was conflicted, but through the troubles she saw that she was given a choice. Jewel, with her restored ability of flight, could forget everything and return to the jungle to live in freedom and peace. Or she could risk her own life to save the only person she had that loved her fully. Such a decision seemed so easy to make. _Go save Blu, you love him._ However logically she had never wanted more then her sole freedom, which was now served on a no-strings-attached platter. And Logically, she couldn't see put her life in danger, that is what she treasured most.

It pained her to make the decision she did, but sacrificing a huge part of her life was never something that she could do easily. With tears in her eyes, she spread her painful wings and took to the sky.

"Sorry Blu."

* * *

**Sad cliff hanger...**

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	6. The Name's Cliff

**I just wanna say thank you for your support so far, its been amazing that people are actually some what enjoying my stories. I appreciate it.**

**Oh and it'd probably make more sense to google the term "respite" if you're not sure of its definition. It really surprises me how well I've kept the story in check based on this term.**

* * *

True love works in horrible ways. It steals your heart, holding it hostage to another person's mercy. There is no true cure, and no one really ever recovers from this. Love is by far the most illogical thing that exists. Once you give your heart out, you'll never be the same. Regardless of the outcome.

However, through all the trials and tribulations that come with it, love is the closest thing to pure happiness. Nothing surpasses True Love. It is a commitment that pays off with love in return. Most people never find it, few realize they have it only after they throw it away, and even fewer enjoy it for what it is.

The peculiar thing is, once you give your heart out and its accepted and reciprocated back to you, you can never walk away from it. Especially if you're loved back with more intensity then you thought possible.

* * *

It was evening in the jungle. Jewel had settled down, mango-in-claw, and was busy eating away at her prize. She now had everything she ever wanted, herself. Freedom was a luxury she now treasured, and she loved every moment since she flew off leaving Nico baffled and betrayed.

Betrayed...

Jewel finished her meal and settled down in the quiet of her new hollow. Jewel rotated her wing around, working out the pain that had developed. Her whole life she had looked forward to this moment, to which she could sit down, look outside her home, and have not a worry in the world. Her whole life she spent developing this mentality of self preservation, it was her ultimate goal and she had finally achieved it. So shouldn't she be happy?

She had her whole future planned out, filled days like this, by herself, alone in the jungle...

Alone...

Once Jewel got comfortable she looked around. Her hollow was just that, hollow. Emptiness surrounded her as she tried to keep her mind off 'him'.

The day still had a couple of hours of life and yet, nothing to do. There were no obligations, troubles, burdens, anything.

Well Jewel, this is what you tried your whole life to achieve. This is everything, she thought to herself.

Admiring the beautiful sky as the sun was half way done with its descent, she looked around the jungle. So peaceful, no humans around and nothing that could endanger her. This was everything she devoted her past life to accomplish.

Her mind went to Blu, his cute brown eyes, sleek feathers, and overall advanced intelligence. Jewel understood what she had done, she had used him. Promised him everything, and when the going got tough and in Blu's time of need, Jewel abandoned him for her life long aspirations. Jewel had followed her head in this matter, like she did for everything before she met him. Funny how she had only known Blu for a fraction of her life, yet he held some significance in her life. Leaving him was like cutting a piece of your heart and leaving it behind.

Her obsessive closeness to Blu angered her. It went against all logic, all foundations that she taught herself in her past life. Something kept gnawing at her mind, though. It grew stronger and stronger until she was force to expel the thought of Blu out of her head.

Jewel began to prune her feathers, clearing the grit and dirt that had gathered over the past few days. Her wing was extremely sore from her journey still so she was glad for her rest. Still it seemed that something was missing, and Jewel was doing her best to keep her mind off that.

* * *

"Are you sure this is gonna work Blu?" Pedro asked eyeing the massive metal box over head.

"Positive, I just hope we don't get knocked too far." Blu had managed to obtain a loose chain that was hooked on to another cage, courtesy of the help from another bird. The room had grown quiet as every bird had directed their attention to Blu's escape plan.

The chain was hooked around the loose bracket that held the shelf the metal box was on and Blu had the other end in claw. Feeling the eyes of many birds on him, Blu presented the chain "All I have to do is bring this half of the shelf down and that should be it. The box should smash open that side of the cage!" Blu gestured towards the side closest to the shelf.

"Wait, wait, wait. Blu when you say that you hope we don't get knocked 'too' far, what do you mean? I don't know about this smashing thing, I'm more of a popping type of guy" Pedro said as he gestured as if opening a soda can. "Are you sure this is safe?"

No, Blu thought, but its the only way that I can get back to Jewel again.

Blu Determinedly gave a few hard pulls on the chain, but he only managed to make the bracket budge a little bit. "Um, Pedro?" Blu asked, "Mind giving me a talon?"

Blu pulled more length of chain in the cage to allow slack for Pedro to help pull. The two birds lifted the chain up and gave two hard pulls before the bracket gave way. The shelf slanted down towards their cage dumping the large metal box right on the weak side of the cage. A loud metallic crash rang out as the box crashed into the side of their cage and bounced clear off. The cage that held both Blu and Pedro was sent toppling over the stack of other cages and was sent straight to the floor.

Dazed from the fall Blu quickly recovered and waited for the dust to clear to observe his handiwork. While the wall had given way to the box, the unintended fall had caused the cage to land open side down, followed by the metal box that now rested on top of the cage.

What stupid luck! Blu thought in dismay. He was so close to tasting freedom and now all that separated him from Jewel was a stupid turn of events. Anger now filled Blu, he lunged himself off the ground and charged the new top of the cage trying to force if off of him. This time, however, there was no budge. The metal box was too heavy to move.

Blu flinched as he heard the angry voices of humans echo from the other room. The door swung open with more intensity than that of the fall. The room grew quiet again. The human sat in the door way for a second processing what he was seeing before making his way over to Blu.

"Marcel warned me you were a smart one, but I would have never guessed you'd give me this many problems." The man said eyeing Blu's handiwork. "Guess I'm gonna have to teach you some manners."

The evil human picked up the cage and grabbed Blu up with a fist, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Blu struggled for a bit, and before he could react the man threw Blu on the ground and firmly placed a foot on his chest. Blu only had a split second to catch a single breath before pressure was applied. His lungs, still shocked from impact, were compressed between the boot and floor, begging for what little oxygen they could get.

Pedro could only sit idly by and watch his friend have the life stamped out of him. Even if he wasn't still imprisoned by the cage, he was useless against the man.

"Now, I need you alive. That doesn't mean I need you unbroken, am I clear?" The man said straightening up. "Settle down, or next time you won't be using you're wings for an awful long time."

The pressure finally subsided, leaving Blu gasping for air and half paralyzed out of pure unadulterated fear. Never in his life had he been treated like this and he saw the true cruelty that was the human race. Everything about the situation was clear to him, he was now regarded as some kind of merchandise, only to be traded overseas as a commodity. Nothing he could do would save him at this point, and if he tried anything again, the consequences were great.

Greed. Greed was the only reason this man had imprisoned him. Blu understood this, but never before experienced the full extent of it. Such a trivial thing as money was all that Blu was worth now to this man. Blu feared for his life as the man picked him back up.

The man then found a empty cage to stuff the damaged macaw into and a similar one for Pedro. The now separated birds sat defeated in their new prison. To add to Blu's shame the wicked man draped a dark blanket over Blu's cage, instantly making his jail stuffy and hot. Blu was now shrouded in darkness, alone and hurting.

Blu closed his eyes and held on to a mental picture of Jewel in an attempt to cope with the pain. Nothing was broken aside from Blu's will, pride, and freedom and the emotional pain far exceeded the physical pain. Still, Blu was defeated. There was nothing he could do now but sit and wait out the storm.

"Cliff, get back in here. We can't afford to waste more time on our preparations." a voice called from the other room. The man turned to the door and gave one last menacing look towards Pedro before slamming the door shut.

* * *

(Nico)

Alright, for starters ladies and gentlemen, Jewel was a B!tch.

That aside, I couldn't believe that after everything Blu and her went through, the second she gets wind of a little trouble she bails on him. I told her the full story, from the point of capture up until I trailed the smugglers back to their hide out. She knew full well of the entire situation, with full knowledge that she was the only one that could possibly save Blu, and she just bailed!

Initially, I was pretty shocked, but she was my only hope for saving Blu so I had to do something. I pulled out my detective instincts and trailed her.

* * *

A lot of time had passed before she finally settled down in a hollow. She was sitting there stuffing her ungrateful face before sitting down. It was obvious at this point, she had no soul. Working up my approach I swooped down to the entrance of the hollow. She shot me a half surprised half annoyed look before disregarding me.

"Jewel, what are you doing?" I asked, heart broken for Blu. "Blu really needs you."

"Blu is gone," she quickly cut me off. "All that's left now is myself."

"Blu needs rescue you crazy bird!" I screamed not realizing the effect it had on her. "Blu is in serious trouble and he needs your help. What's wrong with you?"

She just averted her gaze. As much of a hot wing as she was, she was still pretty stuck up. Still, it dumbfounded me how she could be so inconsiderate of Blu. It was obvious that she still shared feelings for him, and that's all I needed to try and persuade her.

"Do you think if your roles were switched, Blu would waste another breath in this stupid place?" I asked shrugging to her new hollow. "Do you honestly think anything would have stopped him from saving you?"

Jewel's expression mirrored how she felt, conflicted and hurt. "He loves you, Jewel. Don't you love him back?"

"No." She said, now staring right at me. The words sank in slowly, an icy chill ran down my spine as I couldn't believe what I had heard. I was now about to lose it, this was too much for me and I couldn't believe what was going on.

With tears in my eyes I mustered myself up and said, "Blu never gave up on you, he still hasn't. If you're too blind to see what you're throwing away... Then so be it." Not being able to look at her anymore I turned and took to the sky to let my words sink in. I hope it was enough to spur her on.

* * *

**Another cliff hanger.. 'cliff' Heh..  
Yea.. I know how cruel I was to Blu here... sigh***

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	7. Freedom Is Relative

"Blu, are you ok buddy?" Pedro called out breaking the silence that had developed between the two.

"No. No Pedro, I'm not 'ok'! Think about what's happening, in a few hours we'll be on a plane flying far away from here." Blu snapped, "and the worst part? I am alone here, Jewel is gone, never to know what happened to me." Blu's heart sank as his mind focused on Jewel again.

_It was a cruel thing to do,_ Blu thought._ Leaving Jewel in the hands of the doctors, and not being there the next. Never being there again..._

Oblivious to the truth, Blu felt guilty as to what he had gotten himself into. Jewel, in all of her divine beauty and perfection, chose him as her mate-to-be. She chose him to trust in and rely on, and Blu felt guilty for ever leaving her side.

"Don't worry Blu, we've been in this situation before! We can work together to get out of it again." Pedro said, trying to bring up Blu's hopes.

Blu lost it again, "Don't you see? Its hopeless Pedro!" Blu screamed, anger fueling his words. "Last time was different because I had Jewel. No matter what had happened I was with her! You could have taken us to the other side of the world and back and it wouldn't of mattered, not as long as I was with her."

Blu lowered his tone, the realization of defeat settling in. "Now... Now I'm alone, and... And it's all my fault!" Blu said breaking down into tears again. Just a week ago, he would have never seen himself in the predicament he was in. He would have never guessed that he would have found love in such a short time. More regrettably, he would have never imagined the true extent of the pain he came to know as 'heart ache'.

"You're wrong, Blu." Pedro muttered, also realizing the hopelessness of the situation. "This whole thing, is my fault. I never should have made you leave that zoo when it was obvious you didn't want to go. I'm sorry Blu."

Blu could sense sincerity in Pedro's voice. He knew what Pedro had said was true, but wished not to play the blame game. He took what Pedro had said for what it was, a sincere apology. Blu chuckled to himself at how Pedro had referred to the aviary too.

He couldn't be mad at the plump cardinal, no one can foresee unfortunate events such as these. _Who knows, perhaps its best he was alone when they were caught_, Blu thought._ At least this way Jewel was still safe. At least she still had her freedom_...

* * *

Nico padded up the the building in question silently. This was it, the place the smugglers had stuffed his friends as well as a multitude of other birds. The building itself blended in perfectly with the Favela in which it sat. Dilapidated brick walls with patches of tin and wood covering up openings and holes. The tin room gave a slight orange glow that reflected off the waning evening sun.

Flying up to a small crack in the wall, Nico peered in trying to locate and decipher some form of approach. He saw a large, dark man sitting in shadows watching an old television that gave off pulsating, illuminating light that gave the dark room a peculiar tint of color.

Nico observed the room's contents. It was your average run-of-the-mill living room in the slums of Rio including all basic kitchen appliances as well as a couch and small, frugal table. Two doors were the only exits in this particular room. One obviously lead to the outside world whilst the other lead deeper into the shack.

Without warning to Nico, the door that led deeper into the building swung open. Cliff walked sternly out into the middle of the room and began to fill a suitcase with items that were collected on the counter.

"You packed yet Roberto?" Cliff asked glancing a short glare at the man watching TV.

"Yea I'm all done, the truck is loaded too. Just waiting for morning." Roberto replied back, his eyes never averting off the screen. "What was all that racket about?"

"Our 'prized' blue bird had caused some trouble, he nearly escaped. I had to teach him his place." Cliff chuckled sourly. "How much are we expecting again? This airplane ride better not be for nothing."

"The man said he would pay a quarter up front, and a quarter later. Still, five hundred grand is worth the flight. Imagine if we had the other bird, the pair alone would go for at least five million." Robert said smugly. The look on his face made Nico want to tear him apart. "That aside, the other birds will rake up at least ten grand. That'll all be enough to reimburse me" Roberto's stare now focused in on Cliff. "I'll take my full 450, and that's where we'll part ways."

"Fair enough." Cliff said, his back turned to the other man.

Nico pealed himself away from the main room, making a full circle around the perimeter of the house before finding another hole. He quickly put his eye up to the small notch and focused as his eyes adjusted. He could barely make out stacks upon stacks of metal cages.

That's where they should be! Nico thought. Now, if only I could find a way in.

Nico searched around the large wall. He tried a couple of miniature gaps but to no avail. There was no space wide enough for him to occupy successfully. That's when his gaze trailed up. The tin roof had a small gap between the itself and the wall aside from where it was bolted down every few ridges. While the average gap was too small for him, he found a small nook where a few loose bricks gave way to his push.

Nico smiled as a small hole now gave him entry way. The hole was more then big enough from him, and with some managing, maybe even Blu could maneuver his way if he could bend the roof a bit. Slowly Nico, peered in, making sure the coast was clear before descending down and landing on a dark blanket.

"Pedro, hey hey bird! How's it going?" Nico exclaimed as his best friend came into view.

"Nico is that you? Oh whaddup bird? It's about time you came around! For a second I thought you forgot about me." Pedro said, faith now restored in their situation.

"I never leave a bird behind." Nico proclaimed, puffing his chest out. "So where's Blu?"

"Right under you." Blu said, in a hopeful tone. Nico half jumped out of his feathers at the scare Blu gave him. "I'm here, inside this blanket. Mind taking it off? It's pretty hot inside here."

Nico obliged and when he finished he scoped out the room for his next course of action.

"Alright Blu, how do you figure I get you out of these cages? I don't know where the keys to these locks are." Nico said in a now hushed tone as to not alert any unwanted attention.

"The man took the keys to the other room, maybe you could climb under the door and locate them. Be careful though, if you get caught I'm not sure what he'd do to you." Blu said, looking down as he grimaced in pain remembering his consequences for failing to escape the first time.

"No problemo, Blu! And before you know it we'll be out of here!" Nico said reading himself up for his next daunting task.

"Then I can go back and explain everything to Jewel. I hope shes not too scared at my disappearance." Blu said, a sly smile crawling on his face.

Nico stopped. The pain of what Jewel had done rushing back to him. "Blu.. I don't thi-" Nico cut himself off short, not wanting to hurt his friend anymore then what he had already.

"Don't think what?" Blu asked concerned, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Its nothing." Nico finished as he made a quick bolt for the door.

* * *

~(Jewel)~

"How could you do this to me Jewel?" Blu said staring into my eyes as if he could see the true nature that was the deep abyss of my soul. "You betrayed me, my trust, my love..." Blu said in a hurt tone.

I couldn't stare at him anymore, the guilt hurt way too much, but among other things something else was hurting far more.

"Blu I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I said remorsefully. "See the thing is, I always thought freedom was the key to happiness. I always thought that no matter what, as long as I had me to myself, I could be truly happy." The words burned like a slab of red hot revelation that was being poured from my very heart onto the floor. "However, no matter what I do, I don't feel happy. My freedom is missing something."

My whole life I had made every decision with logic. My head had never failed me. It wasn't until I met Blu that I listened to my heart. In that short period, I realized, I was happy. Truly happy. Naturally when my head told me one thing and my heart another, I listened to my head and ran. After all, my head had never failed me before.

Blu just sat watching my every move with an unrelenting expression of betrayal. "You've made you choice, Jewel," Blu said coldly as he turned away and walked into the abyss of my head.

Realizing I was dreaming, I quickly searched around. I was in the darkness again. I heard echoes around me forming faint sentences. The only few words I could pick up were: 'Blu, Jewel, Lost, Freedom, Ungrateful, Betrayal, and Redemption'.

The true meaning behind the words eluded me until I stumbled upon a beautiful scene. What I saw amazed me beyond anything I've ever seen before.

There was a giant tree with a small opening in its midsection. Standing in the hollow I saw Blu, who had the silliest expression of sheer joy on his face. Just the sight of his happiness made me smile inside as I wondered why he smiled he turned inside the hollow only for Me to emerge. I was there with Blu. I had shared the male macaw's jubilant expression and I held in my wings something that was hidden from my point of view. As much as I tried to squirm around and catch a glimpse that the figure in my hands I was paralyzed on the spot.

That's when it hit me. The other me held out the small blue figure out to Blu who studied the chick with such a profound love and affection in his eyes I could have died happily knowing such a thing existed. Before I could muster how I felt about this Blu gave the other me the most sensuous kiss I've ever felt. Even though he kissed other me, an sharp pang of jealousy surged through me, but the kiss was also so passionate I felt like I could feel his beak on mine, as if he was actually kissing me.

It was a family, and they were happy. My family... I was happy, even with Blu.

Funny how epiphanies work, they can be pretty cruel sometimes when you realize the truth behind a situation. Here I was, stupid ol' me leaving back the closest thing I ever had to true love in search of a fairytale. Freedom was relative, I concluded. No matter how hard I tried, breaking away from the shackles of love I shared for Blu was impossible.

Why would I want that even? Love was such a beautiful thing. Its something I could 'die' protecting, for nothing but the chance at a perfect moment like the one I had just witnessed.

It was only then I realized what I had thrown away. I had something that was borderline perfect with Blu. I couldn't believe how blind I had been. Freedom wasn't what I had wanted all my life, I figured, it was the love and attention a family brings.

'I've lost all direction... I've lost all my direction, and now I wish that I would have believed, could have believed...' These words rang out to me, I've lost the only happiness I had. If only I believed in the love that I had.

I couldn't help but try to fight off tears. When I finally came to, I realized I had been crying the whole time. I was blessed to catch the last glimpse of sun as it set behind the outer jungle. In my heart I knew what had to be done, it was time for action.

Following the directions Nico had filled me in on I took to the skies. Leaving my freedom behind, in search of the love I used to know.

* * *

**I can't help but think this was one of my better chapters. Things are getting interesting.**

**Lemme know what you think! Leave a review ;)**


	8. Escape!

(Nico)

The hallway in which I found myself in was barren. The dilapidated walls told many stories of the years of neglect that took it's toll on the building. Silence engulfed me as I padded quietly along the floor. Checking three different doors, I made my way to the only one that had a faint light shining through the bottom crack.

The room I now stared at had a refrigerator, couch, small coffee table, a small TV, a counter with a sink, and two physically intimidating humans. One of which, had passed out on the couch watching the TV. The other human was busy counting money and organizing funds for the trip he was preparing for.

Many suitcases filled the floor next to the awake man. It was obvious that he intended to leave this place for a long time, possibly forever. I tried my best to locate any spare set of keys but due to my low point of view I was unable to find them.

_Alright Nico, Stealth mode_.

Reverting to flying, I quietly lifted myself into the air trying to secure an elevated vantage point. My eyes trained on the awake human who had his back to me. Once I reached my optimum height above any field of normal vision a human would have, I went to searching the counters with my eyes. Due to me being a few inches away from the ceiling, I could see everything in the room

Despite my advantageous position, it took me a while, but I found the set of keys. Unlucky for me they were right beside the awake human.

_Dang it, I'll have to find a way to distract him and sneak the keys away._

Again I scanned the room, looking for anything I could use as a possible diversion. There was a shelf straight above the asleep man and on top of it a small picture frame to which there was no picture.

_Maybe if I managed to drop the picture on top of the man he'd buy me enough time to snatch the keys and make a quick get away._

The prospect of having two awake and alert humans nearly turned me off the idea, but it was my only option besides waiting. Perhaps waiting would be my best bet, but I need to get Blu and Pedro out of here. I'll give it a little more time, I thought as I finalized the details behind my plan B.

* * *

(Jewel)

The darkness coupled with the excruciating pain of my wing made it difficult to push on. I had already put use on it earlier in the day and now the soreness increased to small burn.

_Push on Jewel, you have to. He needs you._

I was nearly a mile off before I was forced to take a rest. My wing felt like it was threatening to snap if I continued to put pressure on it.

If only I wasn't so stupid to reject Blu in the first place. Then we'd already be back at the aviary possibly 'celebrating' our victory over more smugglers.

I had made up my mind. Freedom and solitude are nothing compared to love. Not even in the slightest. After losing everything, I had to cope with my loss with a strong sense of self preservation. For the longest time I only had myself, all because of humans. All because of smugglers...

Then my mind took a negative turn.

_What if I lost Blu too? What if I was too late, all because of my selfishness. How would I deal with that? I would truly have nothing, freedom now held no worth in my eyes._

Tears started to fill my eyes as I longed for Blu's company.

_What if he rejects me? All because Nico told him that I left him in his time of need. More importantly, what if I never got to tell him I loved him again. It would break his heart if the last thing he'd remember me by was my deceit._

_I could never forgive myself for what I had done,_ I concluded. My only hope in life at this point is to find forgiveness in Blu. No matter what his reaction is, I'd have to accept it as my life is now devoted solely to him.

More encroaching thoughts of Blu's possible negative reaction started to fill my head, so I pressed on. Taking to the skies again, I figured that resting would just give me time to think of the negatives which was something I couldn't stand anymore.

* * *

(3rd)

"Pedro, when we get out of here, how do you think we'll explain this to Jewel?" Blu asked nervously. "I sure hope Nico comes back soon, do you think they caught him?"

"Relax bird, Nico is as sly as a cat!" Pedro said quickly imitating a cat, "And as for Jewel, we'll talk to her for ya buddy. Everything will be alright, just chill out"

"I hope she's fine, it's kinda cruel that I promised her I'd be there when she got out of her doctor's appointment. I just sure hope she's not in a panic."

Blu's mind went to the possible pain Jewel was in due to his absence. He also thought about all the good times they had before this small fiasco.

_Hopefully,_ thought Blu, _I can get back to making more memories with her soon. Hopefully after all this is over, we can plan out our future together._

Blu found himself lost in the sheer thought of Jewel. Her beauty alone was enough to melt any bird's heart. She was a hot wing by Blu, Nico, and Pedro's definition after all. Blu considered himself extremely lucky, not only to share the same species as her, but lucky enough to love her and have her love reciprocated back in return.

* * *

Nico, fed up with waiting, impatiently initiated plan B. He had managed to tie a small piece of string to a splintered nook on the old picture frame and held the other end. He positioned himself right above the other, awake human.

At this angle, he thought, the picture frame would fall and land on the asleep man from the same angle as if the awake man had thrown it at him.

Nico's heart was raging up a storm inside his chest, if this had failed he could possibly compromise his presence, ending all hopes and chances at escape for his friends.

Taking in a deep breath and holding it, Nico gave one sharp tug on the string before dropping it and bolting away behind cover on the counter. He had to quickly loop around the awake man's field of vision and come up from under the counter to hide behind a small toaster. In the process he heard a small thud and a startled grunt.

"Why the hell did you throw that at me?" Roberto called out, sleep in his eyes as he was furious to be awakened from his slumber.

"What are you talking about? I didn't throw a damned thing at you." Cliff said coldly as he put away the money in his pocket. Standing upright, Cliff turned to meet the enraged Roberto face to face.

Nico took this opportunity to creep up to the keys, carefully snatching them up and creating as little noise possible. He quickly backed up off the surface and let gravity slowly pull him down to the ground before making his way to the door.

"Then how did this picture frame magically fall on my head? And what is this string on the side? Is this some sort of prank?" Nico heard the angry man call out as he made his way back to the cage room.

* * *

Jewel had finally reached the house in question.

_This is where Nico said it was,_ she thought to herself.

Doing a quick sweep of the building Jewel managed to find the same hole that Nico used to gain entrance. Being slightly smaller then Blu, she managed to wiggle through with a little room to spare. The room was dark, and when she finally locked eyes on her lover she flew down and landed right on top of his cage.

"Miss me?" Jewel proclaimed jokingly.

"Jewel! What are you doing here? how'd you find this place?" Blu asked completely surprised by the turn of events.

"Nico told me where to find it, after I.." Her voice trailed off as she looked guiltily off in another direction.

"After you what?" Blu said, wondering what Jewel could have possibly done.

"After ditching you." A voice called from the door.

Nico swooped up and landed next to the Pedro's cage. Keys in talon, he started working through the multitude of keys that were on the loop with his back to Jewel. Due to his small size, it was a difficult task and each key took a considerable amount of time.

"Blu, when I went to call Jewel to help me rescue you, she flew and bailed. She told me she had chosen freedom over love, going so far as to tell me that she doesn't love you. She betrayed you in your time of need. As a friend, I don't wish to see her hurt you again."

Jewel's heart sank. Tears developing in her eyes she looked at Blu apologetically, but lost for words. Blu, on the other hand was also shocked and at a loss.

"Jewel, is that true?" Blu asked with a small whimper of a tone.

"Yes... bu-"

A loud crash rang out as the room of birds grew quiet. All the eyes in the room had quickly picked out the source of sound. The door was wide open and standing in the doorway, were two intruding men.

* * *

**Yet another 'cliff'hanger.**

**How am I doing? Leave a review! I accept any kind of critique and personally respond to each review ;)!**

**(Oh and this chapter was for you, Tully.)**


	9. A Jewel In The Darkness

**Fair warning: This is a pretty emotional chapter... Enjoy :D!**

* * *

Blu was at a loss. Even in the moment of crisis he just looked away, deep in thought as he processed the revelation Nico had given him. Here he was, in love with a bird that stabbed him in the back after all of the worry and tears he had gone through.

Roberto and Cliff stood in the door way, both of their arms crossed as they eyed the birds. A deep guilty silence engulfed the room as the two men bore both of their gazes right into Jewel and Nico.

Nico clenched the keys tight, he had not yet found the key to Pedro's cage and time had ran out. He released the keys and took a few small steps back, reading himself for a confrontation.

"Well, well, what's going on here?" Cliff asked. Strange how he was both white and his English resembled that of southerners in the United States. "Seems to me the female wanted her mate back. Seems now you're both caught. Its time for a lesson in life, my friends. What do you say Roberto?"

"Yes sir. Sad how you birds came so close to escape, but heres how reality works. The stronger, smarter, and more advanced live on. Taking what they desire from the weaker." Roberto added shrugging to the birds that gave him terrified looks. "Unfortunately for you birds, we are the ones taking your freedom and lives away. Sorry kids, but your show is over."

Cliff unfolded his arms and took a few steps forward, his eyes focused in on Jewel. Jewel was glued to the spot, her eyes flashing to her right where the hole in the roof was. She was the prime target out of the two loose birds, knowing this Jewel had to force herself to do something.

_Move Jewel, now's the time to move... MOVE!_

Jewel made a quick bolt for the hole hoping she was too fast for capture. She managed to wiggle half way through before she felt a crushing grip grab both of her talons. Squawking at the sudden force, Jewel was yanked back into the room and held upside down. The sheer force of the pull knocked the breath out of her.

Desperate for escape, Jewel quickly reached up and tried to bite Cliff. Before she managed to wrap her beak around his flesh, Cliff grabbed her right under her beak in a death grip, constricting her neck and rendering her useless. Struggling was futile so Jewel gave in and submitted, gasping for what little breath the constrained fist allowed her to.

Nico, realizing he was the next target quickly shot around to the back of the room, Roberto hot on his trail. Nico turned to face Roberto once he reached the back of the small room. Waiting for Roberto to lung at him, he managed to loop out of reach of Roberto and make a break for the exit.

Being as small as he was, Nico could just fly straight through without a problem, unlike Jewel. However, fate was cruel to poor Nico. A few wing spans away from his freedom a massive hand swatted him out of the sky with so much force it could be heard from outside. Nico's body went immediately limp as the force of the impact was so strong it sent Nico flying across the room smashing into a few cages.

Pedro's heart sank. Tears filled his eyes as his best friend and bird in crime lay there motionless. "Nico? Buddy you alright? Stay down, bird." Pedro cried frantically, but after a few moments Nico was still motionless, "Nico? Nico please answer me!"

There was no response. Jewel started giving choking fits due to her throats constrained state. Partially releasing his tight hold on her, Cliff held Jewel up and stared right at her. "Well, you've been a bad bird. Managed to knick my keys from under my nose. Quite the clever display. Unfortunately for you, I'm going to have to separate you from the group. It's game over for this little escapade you put on." Cliff said rattling her small body around and fetching a cage to stuff her in.

"Roberto, we don't need to stupid canary. Dispose of him out back." Cliff said pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Roberto fetched the downed Nico and carried him out the door. "As for you my blue bird," Cliff said looking at Blu with contempt, "No more trouble, or I swear you wont see the light of day again."

Cliff carried the caged Jewel out of the room, who sat defeated and in silence. Looking back, Jewel gave one last glance towards Blu, desperately asking for forgiveness. Blu never met her gaze, looking away he sat, shocked at the events that had just occurred.

"I've got a place you can sit and not cause trouble. Lucky for you, you and your mate get a free trip to America in the morning. Congratulations, you get to keep him. That's one saving grace you have in this pathetic little existence you call a life." Cliff opened up a small closet that contained a broom and a few empty shelves overhead. Setting the cage down on the floor, Cliff closed the door and left Jewel in the darkness.

* * *

Blu's reaction throughout the whole ordeal didn't change. In fact he didn't even move, not once. He was lost in deep, concerned thought. Confused over the events that had just occurred.

"Blu..." Pedro said sobbing, "Blu, they killed Nico!"

Blu's gaze lifted to see the crying cardinal staring right at him. Blu felt a strong sense of remorse, but even more than that he felt lost.

Escape was now impossible. The fact that Blu couldn't accept was that Jewel had left, betraying him for the jungle. Before Blu would have been fine, under any situation, as long as he had Jewel, who was now here. However, now he wasn't sure what he was feeling.

So many emotions came to him at once, despite his somewhat advanced intelligence he could not decipher the feelings he now had. Betrayal was a bitter thing to experience, twisting love and trust into contempt and deceit.

_She left me... But she came back. What does that mean? She said she didn't love me... Nico's gone and so is Jewel. How do I make sense of any of this._

Blu looked up to Pedro. Pedro, still crying, sat down facing towards the wall. Blu had never seen Pedro cry in short few days they had known each other. Blu felt genuinely sad and torn apart. Losing one of the few beings in the earth he regarded as a friend to the cold grips of death by a small swat of the hand, courtesy of Cliff. On top of this, the one he loved unconditionally had turned against him.

Part of Blu couldn't accept the fact Jewel left him, and it angered him greatly that she would betray him. But another part felt compelled to forgive and love her, she came back after all. But how could he trust her? Especially when she had abandoned him the first time. Whose to say she wouldn't do it again?

"I'm sorry Pedro. I'm so sorry." Blu said mournfully. "It looks like we cant get out of this one, buddy."

"And what about Jewel?" Pedro said, sniffling up his tears.

"What about her?" Blu said, angered by the mention of her name. "I can't trust her anymore..."

* * *

Jewel cried. She cried like she never had before. Sacrificing her freedom and peace, she set out to save the love of her life. Devoting everything from the moment she left her temporary hollow to save Blu.

She now sat by herself. Tortured in more ways then one. The cage that imprisoned her mocked the freedom she celebrated a few hours earlier, and the separation from Blu hurt beyond belief. But by far the worst part was the fact she had not been able to explain herself and profess her love to Blu. She now sat by herself, a traitor to both love and freedom.

Jewel found herself in darkness again, much like the dream she had, remembering back to what Blu had told her in the dream. "How could you do this to me Jewel? You betrayed me, my trust, my love..."

The emotional pain that engulfed Jewel was the worst thing she had ever felt before. Nothing she could do now could remedy the situation either. She was helpless to explain her stupid mistake to Blu.

Jewel had nothing now. She sacrificed everything she treasured for a chance at love and redemption. But the love was never redeemed.

Before long, it would be morning.

Before long, Blu, Jewel, and Pedro would be on a plane to America.

The only thing any of them could do was find a couple of hours of peace within sleep.

* * *

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	10. Hope

Life is an amazing thing. Too many people take such the simple, yet complex concept of being alive for granted. Truth is, life is a blessing that everyone who ever was, is, or will be shares. Many people also underestimate the resilience of life, while it can be lost in many ways, it can endure even in the most dangerous of situations, and even come out stronger than before.

Life and Love flow hand in hand. The two share a balance that fuel each other with Time being the driving force. Love, in many ways, is also resilient. There is no such thing as a perfect relationship, that's a part of Reality. Love can be lost in many ways, and sometimes it can be damaged and forgotten. But like Life, Love can also endure like a small spark in the darkness of Reality only to smolder and grow through the trials and tribulations it's put through.

Only in Death, do Life and Love meet their end, and Death only occurs when Time runs out.

* * *

When Nico awoke he found himself in a pile of garbage outside the old building that held his friends captive. The smell and taste of blood clouded his senses. His brain was in survival mode, so the pain that he should have felt was blocked. His body was beyond damaged. He was broken.

Trying to move, he found himself partially paralyzed. But as his brain signals persisted he finally managed to bring movement to his right wing. Deep in concentration, Nico managed to maneuver his body up around to where he could get a clear depiction of his surroundings. He was at the top of a overflowing garbage can that had toppled over, spilling its contents in the alley.

The left side of Nico's body was completely unresponsive due to the fact that's where he had taken the grunt of the blow that was dealt to him. Nico managed to regain control of his right wing and talon.

Using what little motor skills he still possessed, Nico crawled his way out of the trash. Nico's brain told him he was in pain, but refused to allow him to feel pain.

One thing was on Nico's mind, survival. He had to somehow bring attention to himself and call for help. Nico only made it a few meters before his physical limits were met, out of breath and out of energy he sat, only about 20 meters from the street where people were walking idly by.

_This is it, this is where I say goodbye._ Nico thought, _I'm too damaged to go on. If only I'd been faster... Man I hope my friends find a way to escape..._

"Is that my favorite little party canary, Nico? Nico, buddy you don't look so good." A familiar voice called from far overhead. "What happened? Why are you by yourself?"

Nico was already on the brink of blacking out. He only managed to see a black and white figure over him before darkness engulfed his vision and pulled him into an unconscious slumber.

* * *

Jewel awoke to a crash as the door swung open in front of her, startling her half to death.

"Time to get up, hope you like to fly!" Cliff said, half chuckling at his cleverness.

Jewel was carried into the main room and out the front door before being loaded onto a truck that already had a multitude of other cages. Blu was there among them but he never acknowledged her presence. A tidal wave of guilt flooded through Jewel as she picked Blu out of the crowd of rowdy birds. Pedro was also there, but he was still in mourning to the passing of his dear friend.

Blu was conflicted and still unsure of how he felt towards Jewel. His heart wanted nothing more then to embrace her with a giant hug and wish the whole situation away. But his mind and feelings were still hurt from the sadness of her betrayal. Blu had been thinking it over since the revelation had hit him. Blu still loved her genuinely but now he had his doubts if she had actually ever loved him back. And even if she did, how could he ever trust that she wouldn't leave him in his time of need again?

Betrayal was a terrible thing to experience. It makes you question everything about the person, whether anything they ever said to you was true. Such a terrible thing Blu was going through, the one bird to which he professed his undying love and affection for, turning her back on him, especially after she told him that she loved him. That really desecrates any sort of trust someone can have towards the person. Blu, while as much as he wanted to forgive her, couldn't pull himself to forgive.

This brought on another slew of conflicts. Say Blu did reconcile with Jewel and they started a family together. Could he trust her with his children after her disloyalty she displayed to him? What if she left him and his future family high and dry, Blu knew for sure that he couldn't raise a family by himself, let alone in the jungle.

The most troubling part was the fact she came back. That obviously meant something, Blu decided. Plus he was almost obligated to be with her, they being the last of their species after all. Blu was still unsure, he glanced up to the Jewel who was just looking down with sadness in her eyes. He longed for nothing more then to talk to Jewel to straighten everything out, but in their current situation he was unable to even keep a clear line of sight of her.

The two men tossed their luggage in the back on top of a few cages before slamming the truck closed. Bungee cords strapped the cages down to hold everything in for the ride. After making their final preparations, the two men covered the back of the truck with a tarp to fend off unwanted attention.

Blu's mind raced over the past week, re-analyzing every detail of his adventure in Rio. He realized that his time here in the place that he had started getting attached to was coming to a close. Before he was confident that he could avoid being smuggled due to the support and love Jewel gave him. Now he was more lost then before, losing more then just Linda.

_It's hopeless_, Blu realized. _Even if I try to break away my life would not be the same. I could never go back to how things were two days ago. How perfect things were, between Jewel and I. Maybe it's for the best that things worked out the way they did, it just goes to show me that I cannot rush love in such a short time. Even though you may face many trials and share magical times with a person, it's only when their true nature shows that you realize who they actually are_, Blu concluded.

Blu hung his head low as he rode the cramped truck in silence. He had come so far, found what he thought was love, but in the end he was about to lose it all. Jewel, Linda, and his new home. The worst part is that Linda will never know what became of her beloved pet. In a sense he was betraying Linda, be in intentional or not.

* * *

The tediously long trip came to an abrupt halt as Blu heard two doors swing open and some chatter between the two men that occupied the truck.

"Start loading, we don't have all day."

The unloading process took considerably longer than the loading process as the two men had to undo the bindings that held the cage and find suitable spots on the cargo plane for each cage. The already half full plane was crowded with an assortment of furniture that made it difficult to maneuver through successfully. It became apparent that the two men would need to lose a couple of cages if they were going to make everything bird fit.

When Jewel's cage turn to be loaded came, Roberto grabbed Blu's cage too. "Due to our little space predicament, you two birds are lucky enough to share a cage with each other. Try not to cause to much trouble."

Roberto obviously underestimated the intelligence of birds. To him they were just simple animals to be gathered and sold to the highest bidder in America. Undoing a larger cage's flip-slide bolt lock Roberto stuck both birds in and redid the bolt before turning to finish his work.

Blu found himself his own corner to sulk in. Jewel just stared at him from across the cage, a sincere feeling of sorrow filling her gaze. She had to make things right between the two of them.

"Blu? Are you ok?" Jewel said, unsure of her word choice.

"Ok? Am I 'O-K'? Do I look ok Jewel? Did you honestly ask me that question?" Blu said, anger overflowing in his tone.

"Blu, I.. I... It's not how you think it is." Jewel said, trying to defend herself.

"Oh, please. Tell me then Jewel, what am I over looking in our little fiasco? You're the one who walked out, perhaps you can explain you desertion. Especially after I gave you my heart, and especially after I gave you my life. Perhaps you can explain why you should get a second chance. Maybe there's some inkling of humanity within you that can explain this whole ordeal." Blu shouted accusingly. The birds that surrounded the couple grew silent and just watched in awe of what was happening.

Jewel, half exasperated and half angry with how Blu was acting, managed to rebuttal, "Yes it's true, I did leave you for something I had been searching my whole life. I left for freedom, my whole life that's all I had to hold on to. That's what I found solace in. I lost everything I ever had at an early age due to humans, for the longest time I only had myself. I don't expect you to understand it, or even forgive it, but hear me out.

"During the few hours of my solitude I realized something," Jewel continued, "I realized that no matter how much I tried to go back to being alone, no matter how hard I pushed you out of my head there, was always a piece of you in my heart. You always held a dear spot in my heart, and you always will, no matter what. I love you Blu, that's why I came back. Do you think I would leave what I treasured my whole life just to rescue you if you meant nothing to me?

"Blu... I love you. You're all I have left. I've already lost my family and past life to smugglers, don't let them take you away from me too."

Jewel poured her heart out, not expecting it to change anything. She turned away in tears, defeated as she realized she could never redeem the love they shared previously. However Blu reacted to her words, she realized she would have to accept it for what it is.

Part of Blu wanted to sympathize with Jewel, he could see where her stand point was. He wanted nothing more then to throw himself on her and cry away the whole situation, but he was still conflicted about their future.

"I don't expect you to forgive me Blu... I just don't want things ending between us with misconceptions floating around." Jewel finished with a mellowed tone. She sat in silence for the longest time waiting for Blu to answer her.

Blu just took one step towards his love. Spinning her around slowly with his wings he grabbed her and held her in the greatest promise of love either of them shared thus far. The two kissed for what seemed like eternity before pulling away, not for oxygen, but for an explanation.

"Jewel, who said things were going to end between us? Remember what I said as we were falling to our deaths? 'I'm not going to let you go. We're chained-together birds, remember'? I meant those words forever, and always. I just wanted to hear your part of the story." Blu gave her a whole hearted hug as he, himself began crying too.

"I understand you Jewel, I understand. I do forgive you, but we're going to have to work things out later."

The two held each other for a long while before the final bird was loaded onto the Plane.

* * *

"Well Roberto, that's all the birds." Cliff said with his arms crossed. He eyed the other man as he put up the back to the truck and locked the doors. "Its funny, you remember what you said before to those birds? 'Heres how reality works. The stronger, smarter, and more advanced live on. Taking what they desire from the weaker'"

A wicked smile grew on Cliffs face. "Yea, it's what I said when we captured the other Spix Macaw right?" Roberto said, oblivious to the malicious intentions brewing within Cliff.

"Well here's how this is going to work. I'm going to take the these birds to America and collect my full price of At least five million dollars. Unfortunately for you, you're staying here." Cliff withdrew a small pistol from his back where stashed it in his jeans, pointing it at the now terrified Roberto.

A shot rang out and caused the birds in the plane to spur in an uproar. Roberto's lifeless body lay outside the plane by the old truck. "Veja-o mais tarde, 'amigo'." Cliff said coldly, spitting in Roberto's direction before closing the hatch to the plane and entering the cockpit. (See you later, friend)

In Roberto's last few moments of kindness he allowed Jewel to be with Blu, saving their relationship. But he overlooked the fact that the birds he was dealing with were ingenious. In his last few acts, he only sealed Blu and Jewel with a simple slide-lock, giving the reformed couple a saving grace within the chaos.

* * *

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**P.S. Did you think I would kill Nico off so easily? Silly viewers.**


	11. Not Our First Rodeo

-(Blu)-

~Intermission~

Alright, so this whole smuggler thing is getting pretty agitating. I never imagined outside of my sweet little sheltered home back in Minnesota that being the 'last of the species' would be such a burden. If I knew the price that was on my head, the I probably would have never left my little cage. Oh how I miss my little cage, with my swing, the mirror... You get the point.

On the other hand there's Jewel. She's my little 'jewel' in all of this. A fitting name by all accords. However, there really is no such thing about a perfect relationship, but I can't blame her for her mistakes.

Just imagine losing everything you've ever had, ever depended on. Heck, I really never figured out what she lost, but I imagine it must have been significant to her for her to be such a loner. That always really baffled me too. Jewel has such an amazing outgoing personality. She's the last person you'd expect to keep to herself.

Anyways, imagine losing everything and fending for yourself, developing a sense of personal worth and personal dependency. Having nothing but yourself and your own world. Being alone for a long period of time, never experiencing the thing people need for intimate interpersonal interactions, Trust... Erm, Love's also really important, but her problem here was trust problems. Also attributed to lack of Love, but that's because she didn't have anyone.

Anyways, you'd develop hatred for the outside world, and for the people who took everything away. Being alone is a terrible thing, and what it did to Jewel warped her. She developed a reliance on a false sense of freedom. Treasuring the freedom she experienced before all else because it was the only that she found security and direction in.

That's why I can understand what she did, and that's why I forgive her. I did a lot of thinking on it that night, and that's the conclusion I came up with. No other feasible way would explain why she would give up freedom to rescue me, other then the fact that she realized what she had was worth more.

I don't mean to sound arrogant or conceited or anything. If anything this proves her love for me... Ya'know other then the fact she keeps telling me verbally.

But back on the topic of Trust, she did betray me. This also proves to me that she's not ready for a step towards a family, which extremely terrifies me because that was all she seemed to desire back before this whole incident.

One thing I read back in Minnesota and have come to believe is that having children changes every. I read that they become your everything, they become the love of your life and you treasure them over your mate and even yourself. Also considering the fact that we are the last two of our species, even more importance would be placed on our chicks.

That's where the major conflict arises. If Jewel betrayed me once before, even though I forgave her, I can't allow something to happen to my chicks. I mean, they are 'my' chicks. Made from me and everything, even if Jewel did help, I'm a parent as much as she is. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I brought a being into the world and something happened.

As much as I love Jewel, I can't rush into a family with her yet. I can't risk her walked out again and leaving me a single parent who is barely able to sustain himself in the jungle.

All I can foresee now is that we still got our problems to work through, but we're back together. I'm really thankful for that too, because she is the love of my life, as silly as that sounds due to our miniscule time together.

* * *

(3rd Person)

Doing one last pre-check before taking off, Cliff quickly checked the cargo and the plane's capability of flight. Deciding that all was good, he proceeded to close the hatch to the cockpit and take a seat, turning on the plane and getting it prepped for take off.

"Blu, you have no idea how grateful I am to hear you say that. Thank you for understanding." Jewel said whole heartedly.

Blu could sense pure, genuine honesty in her words. He knew that, deep down, they still had their conflicts ahead of them, but he was confident that his reformed relationship was now clear of misconceptions.

"Sorry to break the sweet moment love birds, but Cliff just shot that man!" Pedro said breaking the silence. The two Spix Macaws almost forgot that Pedro was even present during their whole make-up session, infact, they shut out all other sounds besides their own words.

"He did what? And whose Cliff?" Jewel said bewildered

"Um, did you not hear the gunshot? Cliff, the man now driving the plane, the very same one who killed Nico and captured you, shot his partner." Pedro said informing the couple of what had just occurred, "I really think this man means business, such a ruthless individual."

"How did you even learn of his name?" Jewel questioned

"We overheard him on the phone back before you came." Blu explained, "But I can't believe he would kill another human so meaninglessly. If anything this goes to show us how evil this individual is."

Pedro struggled to hold tears back as his mind flashed to Nico, the very bird that was always there for him, his best friend. "How can any being take life away with such ease? Such meaningless killings... It doesn't make sense." Pedro, now weeping, turned away from the birds, masking his tears.

"Its all about money..." Blu said bitterly. "All that matters to him is me and Jewel. We're nothing more then stupid birds to be sold and profited from. A mere commodity, auctioned off to some snobby individual with more money then they know what to do with."

"What will happen to us?" Jewel asked, terrified for the answer.

"I don't know. w-well, I mean..." Blu took a deep sigh, "It all depends on the person who buys us. 'If' they buy the both of us that is."

The couple could feel the plane move, gaining speed before a raising sensation enveloped the whole plane. The plane kept ascending before reaching optimum cruising height.

Blu let the reality settle in as he studied Jewel, her expression of concern only made him even more upset. He couldn't stand to see her troubled, so he turned away, averting his gaze downwards and entrenched in deep thought.

"What do you mean 'if' they buy both of us?" Jewel said defensively "Of course they will, shouldn't we be worth more together? They can't separate us!" Fear now ebbing into Jewel's being.

Blu just shook his head, "I don't know... I-I just... I don't know."

Blu adverted his gaze again as if trying to search for an answer. The emotional pain from the possibility of being separated from Jewel started to overwhelm his senses, tears forming in his eyes.

"I've never been so unsure before, they might as well kill us off if they separated us. I couldn't stand losing you again, Blu."

Jewel followed Blu's gaze, and stared sadly at the spot for a second. A good minute passed before the two of them realized what they was looking at. The second she realized it, her head slowly lifted at the same time Blu's head also perked up. Their eyes met, both widened from shock.

"Do you see what I see?" Jewel said with a monotone slew of no emotion, not changing the surprised look in her face.

"I believe I do, sweet heart." Blu said, a small smile forming on his beak.

The two looked back down to the miracle that had bloomed before them.

"... Really? Did this human really forget the clever bird I fell in love with?" Jewel said, happiness filling her tone. Blu let out a slight blush before tackling the standard cage lock.

"Roberto was the one forgot to lock the cage... I guess if he did one good thing in his life he sure helped us escape!" Jewel said with hope renewing within her.

"Easy as upside-down Caramel Apple pie!" Blu said confidently.

Jewel just flashed him a questionable look before moving over to Pedro's cage. "It's a Minnesota thing," Blu said shrugging her look off.

Letting loose a slight laugh Jewel exclaimed, "Blu, the faster we release these birds and get out of this plane, the less we have to fly back to Rio!" hurrying her pace after she freed Pedro.

Blu and Pedro joined in the cage opening process as the trio frantically swept the room.

Half laughing Blu remarked about how easy tricking smugglers was, still in disbelief at the situation.

"This is the second time, just like the first!" Blu said confidently, "Am I dreaming? Is this really happening? It feels so surreal that this is the second time we managed to escape the clutches of a sinister smuggling operation."

"You are like an anti-smuggling machine Blu! Ay Nico, let's give this bird some props! I-" Pedro stopped short as he remembered the cruel deed fate had dealt to his partner in crime, Nico.

Blu and Jewel also stopped, remorse filling both of them as they mourned the loss of their beloved bird.

"You two leave me here... Rio won't be the same without him." Pedro said solemnly.

"You can't be serious Pedro, c'mon Rio is the only place that you know!" Blu said, ushering his friend on. Jewel couldn't stand to see the poor cardinal that helped bring her together with Blu in pain.

"Pedro, the other world isn't for you. Do you think Nico would want you to leave your home behind?" Jewel said, trying to convince the obese bird.

"Besides, America doesn't have samba." Blu chipped in.

"... No samba?" Pedro asked meekly, in a sudden change of tone, "Well then heck NO! Forget that! America ain't NO place for Peh-dro" he exclaimed putting emphasis on his own name.

Smiling, Blu and Jewel hopped up on to a small couch in the middle of the plane and turned to the switch that release the back hatch.

"I'll let you have the honors this time, dear," Blu said bowing towards Jewel. The handle put up little resistance as Jewel jumped up and put her weight straight down on the small lever. Opening the back wide open as all the various birds lined up in the back. Similar to the previous charge of freedom, Pedro let loose a war cry and charged out the back of the plane, followed by a myriad of birds.

Before Jewel and Blu took off from the plane they looked back at each other. Captivated by each other's gazes they sat for a moment before flinching to the crash that was the hatch door swinging open.

Cliff had one hand on the controls of the plane and the other hand brandished a small pistol, the same that he had used to kill Roberto. Pure rage filled Cliff's eyes as he stared straight at Blu before catching the slide release on his chest and priming the small pistol. Blu saw Hell itself burning within the rage of the man that now threatened their lives.

Cliff took aim at Jewel, the closest bird to him. "You won't get away with this. I'll make you pay for this, 'Blu ave'." #Blue bird#

Jewel stood frozen, fear paralyzing any attempt she made to react and dive out of the way. The pistol was aimed right at her, and a sense of impending doom clouded Jewel's mind.

Split second reaction time, courtesy of Blu, saved Jewel from her death. Using his full body weight, Blu launched himself at Jewel tackling her out of the way right as a shot rang out from the gun.

The couple tumbled to the floor as a few more shots followed the first, tracking their descent.

Shaking herself free of the perpetuated state she was in, Jewel turned to look at Blu, fearing the worst.

"Blu! Are you alright?" Jewel said, screaming as she shook Blu.

"Wh-what what? Why are you hurting me?" Blu asked as he opened his eyes, "He missed," Blu said with a huge grin.

Due to the stress from the situation, Cliff had made a rookie mistake in his shooting form. Not only did he not brace the pistol with both hands, as he had to keep the plane steady due to the lack of an autopilot feature, but his trigger squeeze was jerky, contracting the muscles in his arm caused his aim to raise an inch, throwing his shot way off.

Frustrated Cliff threw the pistol down, "I don't believe that I'm being cheated out of this money to a pair of stupid birds. I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to do, but you will live to regret your foolish f-cking trickery."

Not giving their attacker a chance to claim their lives again, Jewel grabbed Blu and made way for the exit, diving straight down out of the plane in a free fall nose dive before gliding out smoothly and setting her direction towards Rio. Her wing was stiff now, thankfully and had little to no pain in the huge gusts of breeze. Blu mimicked her stunt and followed her, thanking his saving graces that he and Jewel escaped unscathed.

* * *

If there was one thing Cliff put before money, it was his pride. Being outsmarted by a group of rag-tag birds was humiliating. Cursing profusely at his defeat, he turned the plane in a long curve until he pulled 180 degrees and faced Rio. A new fire was set off inside of Cliff, one of an undying thirst for revenge.

* * *

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	12. Rebuilding For the Future

It was mid-day before the macaws had to stop and rest. They had been flying for a short while now and without their breakfast they were fatigued from the events that had occurred. The jungle that surrounded the couple had a unique shimmer that the sunlight gave off as it shone through the canopy.

Jewel landed on a branch of a passion fruit tree, stretching her nearly fully recovered wing. Soreness edged its way in and she needed to rest it before continuing in to Rio. Making way for Blu to land, Jewel reached up with her beak and tore off a fruit from the tree, handing the fruit to Blu.

"Here you go, that's for saving me earlier." Jewel said gratefully.

"Thank you, and think nothing of it. I wouldn't be a proper mate if I didn't protect you." Blu remarked feeling loved.

"Hey Blu, you finally said it."

"Said what? 'if I didn't protect you'?"

"No silly, 'mate'. You said 'mate'." Jewel said smiling brightly at Blu. "So that's how you feel about us now?" she finished with a seductive look.

"W-well I mean, t-technically we aren't 'mates'... But, I do love you Jewel." Blu confessed before breaking into the fruit that Jewel gifted him with. Jewel just blushed on the inside as she slowly turned to take another fruit. Blu's nervousness towards her just sparked a sense of love that Jewel harbored for him. It was a quality she had grown to love and every time Blu was put on the spot it drove her crazily in love and turned her on.

Also breaking into her fruit, Jewel took a couple of huge bites letting the flavor engulf her sense of taste. She devoured through the fruit chunk by chunk due to her extreme hunger that was attributed to her capture. She finished a whole fruit before Blu managed to eat halfway through his. Grabbing another fruit for herself, Jewel took in her surroundings, slowing her eating pace to enjoy the moment.

The two ate in silence, enjoying their breakfast-lunch before they had to fly again. Savoring every bit of flavor, Blu took his time with each bite. The jungle was definitely different then what he was use to, but there was a strange sense of belonging that enveloped him as he looked around. It was almost as he felt like he was meant to be here.

_Silly Blu, this is your natural habitat!_ Blu said to himself. _This is hopefully where you will be living before long._

The jungle seemed just so peaceful to the male macaw. It moved at a different pace then the fast paced life of the city. Everything here flowed naturally, within it's own rhythm. Everything seemed like a work of art, each an every individual form on life playing it's own meticulous part to bring together the beauty that was the jungle they were in now.

Blu admired the small birds that flew off in the distance and fluttered around. The wild life was abundant if one were to look hard enough. It seemed like the whole jungle around them pulsated with the ever so small presence of life. Blu found himself smiling at his surroundings and pulled himself out of the trance to finish the last bit of passion fruit he had.

_This must be what Jewel sees in the jungle. Everything here is so peaceful, so slow, and in some strange way so advanced. Everything intertwines, such beauty is rare in the industrial world of the humans. If I were to raise a family, this is where it'd be,_ Blu concluded.

Jewel noticed Blu observing his surroundings. She sat eating and half chuckling at his surprised and happy facial expressions. "Is this not the best place ever?" Jewel asked, breaking the silence.

"It's so amazingly beautiful and peaceful. There's not much else I can put on it. The daylight really brings this place to life, I feel like I could belong here." Blu said as his gaze continued to wander around the tree lines.

"Well, you do belong here Blu. You belong here with me." Jewel said capturing Blu's expression. "And you belong here with a family."

Blu turned away at the mention of the word 'family'. He was still conflicted of that aspect of life. No matter how much he tried to shake Jewel's mistake from him he couldn't pull himself to forget and move on from it.

"Jewel, we're not ready." Blu reached out to grabbed Jewel's wings, looking right in the sapphire plates she called eyes. "I don't think we, as a couple, are ready. We really need more time, besides we should really get back to the aviary."

"I'm ready Blu, and I can see it within you. You've changed so much since we first met, there's no doubt within me that you wouldn't be the best dang father ever." Jewel's gaze never broke with his. They sat slowly leaning into each other ever so slowly at each word that passed by.

"Jewel... I-" Blu stopped himself, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the reason he wanted to wait was of her.

"You what, Blu?" Jewel asked, drilling Blu's eyes for answers.

"Now just isn't the time. I mean, we just escaped death. Do you really think we need to rush into it now?" Blu finally mustered up.

"I guess your kinda right, Blu... But I am as ready as I will ever be, but I respect you and your decision to wait, because I love you Blu. I will never leave you again, such a mistake would be worse the slowly torturing myself to death."

Jewel pulled Blu into a long hug, "I love you Blu. I promise I'll love you forever."

Both parties were thankful for the other's companionship. Such a moment was rare between them, as it wasn't overly romantic, but rather such a simple gesture as a long hug was enough to make them feel loved. Probably more so then a nice kiss.

Blu pulled and turned away and faced the direction they were headed before they stopped. "Shall we get back into the air, dear?"

"After you, handsome!" Jewel said winking at Blu.

"Oh no no, you first, please I insist... As the gentlebird." Blu bowed forward and waited for Jewel to take flight before following her.

* * *

"Well your friend is stable, but not in good shape. He suffered multiple shatters and fractures all over. By far the most troubling thing is the misalignment in the spinal column. It's going to take some surgery and extreme luck, but if all goes well he could be the same bird he was before the incident."

Tulio stared down at the unconscious canary. "Thanks for bringing him in Rafael, you sure saved his life."

Rafael just stared down at his friend, troubled of what had became him. Nico, however wasn't the only troubling part, Pedro and the two love birds were also missing. Rafael connected the lines between Nico's state and their disappearances. Where ever they were, they were probably in a lot of danger.

Not being able to stand around while his friends were in possible danger, Rafael nodded once towards Tulio and turned to fly off in search of his friends' whereabouts.

"Well Nico little buddy... Hopefully when you rouse you can shed some light on Blu and Jewel." Tulio muttered sadly as he turned away from the lab table. "Where ever they are, I hope they are ok and still have each other." Tulio grabbed his things and made way for the door, everything he could possibly do for the little canary was done and now only time would tell.

As Tulio opened the door a team of surgeons walked passed him to tend to the poor Nico. Turning back to the little Canary, Tulio stood there for a moment before releasing a deep sigh and walking off.

* * *

On their way back to the aviary, Blu and Jewel stopped by the club, or rather where it use to be. The sheets and makeshift roof was torn down; Boxes, seating, and other furniture was strew across the floor due to the pandemonium that took place.

Images from Blu's drunken stupor came flooding back as he started to recall the events of that night. As damaging as it was to him, he found solace in the fact that every bird had been rescued, and hopefully they'd return.

"Heya two, how are you guys doing? Sorry but the clubs kinda closed, due to you-know-what." A voice called out

Blu and Jewel turned to meet Kipo flying towards them. Although neither of them had properly met before, they both were well acquainted. After their unceremonious greetings, Blu turned back towards the wreckage.

"Seems like there wont be parties for a long while." Blu remarked

"Seems that way, sadly, but it gives me an initiative to remodel the club. It was falling apart anyway, needed improvement. I'm even thinking about relocating to the other side of town, heard they got better venues." Kipo said optimistically.

"Well is there some way we can help?" Jewel asked, "surely we can help you move and rebuild."

"I like the offer, but its no problem. I already have my crew out scouting. No, no you've done this community more then enough by saving many of my regulars from smugglers, and for the second time." Kipo started surveying his surroundings before muttering something to himself.

"What was that?" Blu questioned

"Nothing, look I've got a few things to do so I'll catch you guys later. Thanks again!" Kipo took to the skies leaving the couple alone again.

"Well I sure do hope things work out for the Kipo and the club," Blu said turning to Jewel "Besides, where else are we gonna blow off steam and relax?"

"Um, I do think it has caused more trouble for us at this point, but you're right. I'd love for the club to be back open again, its a good place to kill time and enjoy a night."

"Its getting late, I say we head back to the aviary before Tulio has a stroke due to our absence."

"That'd be quite wise of us, handsome." Jewel quickly pulled in one quick kiss before turning away and racing off, "Hope you can keep up, honey, there's more where that came from if you can."

"Right behind you, dear!"

Blu propelled himself off the side of the box he stood on and chased after his love.

* * *

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	13. A Promise Of Love

Evening had crept it's way into Rio. Orange hues shone from the sun as it informed earth's inhabitants of the day's dying hour. Blu and Jewel had found their way back to the aviary, landing on the roof, thus ending their adventure.

"Let's try to sneak in, maybe they haven't noticed our absence." Jewel whispered in a hush tone even though no one was around to hear. She gave Blu a wink and nudge before walking over to the ventilation shaft.

"Do you really think Tulio would overlook our presence considering who we are?" Blu said as he followed Jewel. "We are like superstars in his world, there's no way he hasn't noticed."

"It's worth a try. Besides, I want to avoid the reception party."

"As you wish, I kinda want a quieter evening too."

The couple descended into the air ducts and made their way through the miniature labyrinth of vents. Right around they time they were both about to claim being lost they managed to find their makeshift home that was an artificial jungle. However, unlike how they left it, the grate on the opening had been replaced, making it impossible to sneak their way into their room.

"Ugh, so much for avoiding the reception." Jewel sighed as she sat down, exasperated from their troubles in the vents.

"Well, I guess it'd be nice of us to let him know we are back. There's no denying that he is well aware that we are gone now." Blu found his was beside Jewel and plopped down next to her. "As much as I'd like to just go inside our hollow and sleep this whole day away."

"Lets sit here for a while, Blu. I want some quiet time before we get bombarded for our prolonged disappearance, knowing Tulio he probably thought we left to go mate or something." Jewel stretched back, balancing herself on her wings as she sat back. Silence crept between the two as the both recollected the past events.

"I'm glad you're with me, Blu." Jewel interjected, changing the subject completely and breaking the silence.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be with you?"

"I'm just so glad that you found it in your heart to look past my stupid mistake."

"You're still stuck on that, huh? Jewel remember back to the plane, the first incident. Do you know the full meaning of my words when we were in mid-air?" Blu questioned as he looked backed that day "We are chained-together birds. I said that even though our chain had been removed. What compelled me to throw my life away for you was our chain, not by physical means, but by love. I love you, don't forget that."

Blu looked away, partially embarrassed that he was truly confessing everything to Jewel. Everything that Blu had said rang a chord within Jewel, there was no questioning the geniality behind his words. Everything he said was true, anyone could see it in his face and hear it in his words.

Jewel stared at the azure bird, _How could I have picked being free in the jungle by myself over him?_ She thought,_ was I really that blind? I was stupid for walking away, I wish there was some way I could make it up to him..._

"I love you too, Blu. I can't forgive myself for what I've done, but the past is the past and there's no changing that now. I hope someday I can prove my love to you." Jewel shifted uneasily as Blu gave her a questioning look. "I just feel so selfish and ungrateful. You've given me everything I could ever want, even before I realized it. And you've forgiven me so easily. I never knew such kindness existed in the world."

Jewel scooted closed to Blu and rested her head on his shoulder, glancing up to meet his loving gaze. "Just you being here is all I ever need Jewel. The only thing I could ever ask of you is to never leave me again. My heart couldn't continue to exist without you."

Blu's words echoed through Jewel's head. "Never leave me again Jewel. Promise me that, and I'll be the happiest bird in the world."

"I promise."

* * *

Rafael eventually had to end his patrol flight as his wings grew tired from the constant flying. Landing on the roof by the destroyed club he let out a giant sigh as he surveyed the remains. His nonstop search for his friends over the past few days had greatly took a toll on his body, he knew he couldn't keep searching the way he had been for much longer.

Night was edging in and before long Rafael had to return to his own children, they still needed their father to look after them, after all.

"Aww, man. What happened to the club? It's still torn down!" A familiar voice rang out. Darkness covered the direction from which the voice resonated from, making it impossible for Rafael to pinpoint its origin.

"I guess there's not gonna be no mo' parties for a whiles. What ev's. Ugh, Nico buddy... Why'd you have to leave me?" The voice filled with a sudden sense of anguish.

The mere mention of Nico's name sent chills down Rafael's spine, he knew exactly who was talking now.

"Pedro?" Rafael called out, "Pedro where are you?"

"Who's that? Is that Raffy my favorite ol' toucan?" Pedro perked up and took to the skies searching for Rafael. Once he picked him out, Pedro swooped down using his bulk to slow his descent and brake before he hit the ground.

"Pedro, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you."

"Chill bird, I'm fine but... b-but Nico isn't..." Pedro buried his face in his wings, still overcome with grief that his partner in crime has passed away.

"Yes, I know of Nico's condition. It's sad but he'll be back to normal soon."

"Back to normal? Are you some kinda sick bird? Nico is dead! The smuggler killed my little buddy." Pedro continued to cry

"Killed? No no no, Nico is very much alive. I saved him from an alley, but he was hurt pretty bad." Rafael shifted his stance to comfort the crying cardinal.

"S-so... He is.. Alive?" Pedro's eyes widened in hopeful disbelief

"Yes Pedro, but it'll take some for him to get back to normal. In the mean-time you have to help me find Blu and Jewel, and what's the deal behind these 'smugglers' you were talking about?"

"Blu and Jewel are safe... Hopefully. I left 'em right after they helped us birds escape."

"Escape? What happened amigo?"

Pedro retold the whole story from where him and Nico picked Blu up from the aviary, up until him meeting up with Rafael now. He included every detail, including Jewel's mistake and Nico's supposed death. The story took a long while to complete and when he was done, night had fully enveloped all of Rio.

"So they should be safe. They might be at the aviary right as we speak. Shall we give Nico and them a little visit?" Rafael asked

"There's ain't nothin' more that I wanna ta do." Pedro said nodding his head in all seriousness

* * *

The two blue macaws sat together for a long while before deciding to head back inside. They didn't want to fall asleep in the ventilation shaft and it was well overdue they paid Tulio a visit.

Descending from the roof the couple landed at the front door, Jewel gave one ferocious knock with her beak before backing away, dizzy from her actions. No one seemed to answer the door, it was late but surely Tulio was still here as it wasn't quite time to close.

Blu rolled his eyes, "Always with the forward aggression..." Blu flew up to the door handle and plucked the door bell once with a talon. A long drawn out ring ensued and the two macaws backed away, waiting for their embrassive reception.

Fernando, of all people, poked his head out and stared incredulously at the two birds. "Hey guys, I found 'em! They came back!"

Before either of the two birds knew what hit them, a herd of white lab coats rushed out and snatched the two birds up, hustling them inside. The scientist drilled the birds with both questions and observations, making sure the two macaws were safe and sound.

Such an uproar caused Jewel to get really defensive, biting one probing hand that strayed too close. Blu fought his way past the multitude of intruding hands to comfort Jewel, he had saw her discomfort and tried to make sure she didn't repeat her biting actions.

After what seemed like an hour of their interrogation, it was actually five minutes, A light flickered from red to green above a door labeled 'Emergency Room'. Tulio walked out happily, chest in the air as he had the biggest smile on his face.

"The operation was a success, Nico will be making a full recovery."

Cheers roared through the room and the doctors celebrated the success.

"However, it will take time for him to regain use of all of his bodily functions, in time he will be back to the same ol' samba loving cana-" Tulio's words trailed off as his eyes met Blu and Jewel.

"Blu! Jewel! Where have you guys been?" Tulio bolted over to the two birds. "Never leave without telling me again, you two!" He scolded before lightening up his expression. "So what happened? Where is Pedro? And how did Nico end up in as bad of a condition as he is in?"

Blu shrugged as he tried using his body language to explain the situation, but after the questionable looks he received, he stopped and surveyed his surroundings.

Blu quickly lifted into the air and darted over towards the receptionists' desk and retrieved a pen and note bad, scribbling words crudely down on the paper before handing it to Tulio.

'Smugglers kidnapped us, we saved the birds again, let us go back into our room to rest'

The words read sloppily, but for a bird to be able to communicate, it was outstanding nonetheless. Nodding his head in bewilderment, Tulio released the two birds and allowed them to go back into their room.

"I'm going to have to get Linda to show me how she taught Blu to write, that's simply amazing. I knew he was a smart bird, but I would have never guessed this was the extent of his intelligence."

* * *

"So how did you get us outta that one?" Jewel asked, relieved that they were now alone again.

"Oh I just wrote them a simple message, it got the point across." Blu shrugged slightly, "It was nothing really."

"You have to teach me someday. It looked like a really helpful skill to have."

The two birds cuddled close in their hollow. It was the only place they felt safe from the multitude of cameras peering in on them. Jewel turned to Blu and started slowly kissing him. Starting at his shoulder and making her way up to his beak, playfully.

"You know Blu, there's nothing better then sitting here with you, all alone. This is something I could get used to." Jewel flashed him a wink and went in for another kiss, this time deeper and right on the beak.

"There will be many more nights like this one, dear. We have the whole rest of our lives together." Blu said, shifting his position towards Jewel to better embrace her.

Jewel eyed Blu suspiciously, "What do you mean 'nights like this one'?" She gave off a small chuckle as Blu pulled back and blushed a little, his right wing went up and scratched behind his head nervously.

"I just mean, there will be many more nights of our own company, just the two of us. No more worries, no more troubles." Blu smiled back at Jewel nervously, thankful for his quick save on the situation. He leaned in and continued to kiss Jewel deeply. Passion floated between the two as the night went on.

Pulling away, Jewel looked Blu in the eyes. "Come with me to the jungle tomorrow. Lets start our lives together, Blu."

"As much as I'd love to, we have to remain here for now. We have to keep checking in on Nico, and plus we have to make preparations before we depart."

"Blu... I don't feel safe here anymore. The human world is unforgiving, as long as there's more smugglers out there, we can never rest easy. Cliff is still out there, and not just that, but he is out to get us now. Possibly even kill us. The sooner we disappear off the radar, the sooner we both will be safe."

Blu could feel the truth behind her words. Being the last two Spix macaws meant that they practically had a bounty on their head, but Blu couldn't pull himself to leave civilization so early. He needed to do a few things before hand.

"Give me three days, that'll be time for us to make our last minute preparations. Then I will leave this life of companionship towards humans, and be your companion in love." Blu rubbed his beak on Jewel's, similar to how animals nuzzle affectionately.

"I'll be waiting patiently."

Due to their fatigue, however, they both decided to sit back and go to sleep before anything started happening. The couple had a long day, after all, and both were thankful for the safe, healing entombment of sleep.

"Good night, Jewel." Blu said stretching and yawning before laying back closing his eyes.

"Good night," Jewel responded as she snuggled up to Blu, using his chest as a pillow.

* * *

**Strange enough, this is my favorite chapter so far. I wish I could gush and tell you the reasons why, but it'd give away too much ;)**

**How am I doing? Leave a review! -c'mon make my day, you know you want to ;)**


	14. Romance

**I was in a really good mood when I wrote this, can you tell by all the little jokes? **

* * *

The morning rays shone through the upper canopy, bringing a new awakening pulse of life throughout the jungle. As if on cue, animals roused themselves for a productive day of jungle life and in the span of five minutes the jungle had another tone of life surging through it.

Rafael awoke to his rowdy eighteen children pattering around welcoming the new day. Eva, who was still wiping sleep from her eyes rose and went to greet the new day with her chicks. Life was perfect for Rafael. He had the family of his nightmares and loving friends all around Rio that knew him by heart.

He was successful in terms of life, living healthy and virtuously and bringing new life to the world... A 'LOT' of new life, I mean what was he even thinking, eighteen children ranging between 1-2 years of age? That's insane.

Anyways, pondering the events of the past two days, Rafael awoke, bidding his family off as he took flight to see if Blu and Jewel ever made it back safe. The night before Rafael had brought Pedro to Nico, giving the poor ol' cardinal a renewed hope that his little friend would one day dance and sing again. Rafael had to leave to be the father he was to his family, so he was unable to greet Blu and Jewel upon their arrival.

The early morning flight was rather peaceful for Rafael, swooping by and snagging a mango from a tree without breaking his flight. He quickly enjoyed his meal mid-flight making record time as he eventually reached the aviary. Swooping in from an ajar window he landed next to Tulio who was tending to the now conscious Nico who was laying down as Tulio tended to him.

"Hey Raffy, how ya been bird?"

"I'm ok buddy, you've seen better days I'm sure. You were unconscious for a whole day, glad to see you wake up and see the light amigo!"

"You have no idea, I dreamt that I had died and was flying around in some kind of bird heaven. There was samba... Samba everywhere!" A single tear dropped from Nico's eye. "You have no idea how beautiful it was."

Half chuckling to himself Rafael took a quick look around trying to pick out familiar faces, "So where's Blu and Jewel? Have you seen 'em?"

"Heya birds!" Pedro swooped in from the same window Rafael used to gain entrance. "Whatcha guys doin' here?"

"Well, you know me, I come here often for my weekly check-up!" Nico said sarcastically.

"I'm just checking up on Nico, how are you Pedro?" Rafael said brushing Nico's comment aside.

"I'm doing just fine, bird... Ay I've decided that I'ma be your personal assistant Nico. And I'ma stay by yo' side until you get yo'self better bird!" Pedro saluted sternly and sat down next to the immobilized Nico.

"Heh, you realize I'll be here for quite some time, right Pedro?" Nico said staring up at his friend. "You should probably go off and have fun while I sit here and heal. I can't even move my left wing yet, but Tulio here said I'd be able to fly once again soon."

Pedro just shook his head vigorously, "When I thought you was dead, a part of me also died. I didn't know what I'd do without my best bud right next to me. Never do that to me again little buddy." Pedro gave Nico a quick smile, "Yea, that's why I'ma be right here until you get yo'self better. Things just wouldn't be the same without."

Nico burst out into a painful sob, shuddering his body at each gasp of breath. Pedro, joined in soon after.

"I don't know what I woulda done if I'd lost ya buddy!" Pedro sobbed

"I don't know what I'd do if I had lost you either!" Nico cried

Rafael just stood there and shook his head in unapproval, never in his whole life had he seen such a pitiful display from these two birds.

"Hey you two, get ahold of yourselves. Everything turned out just fine in the end." Rafael said trying to comfort the pair. "And no one has told me where Blu and Jewel are yet!"

* * *

Sunlight had crept into the clearing of the jungle Blu and Jewel shared. The cliff face from which they looked at rumbled with a force of one thousand trains as the waterfall gushed uncontrollably. The bottom pool of water had a thick mist that formed from the crashing water. The mist lasted just long enough to sweep past the couple before dissipating from the sun that was now directly overhead.

The sun gave the waterfall a unique glow and shimmer, the wet curved rocks projecting from the cliff face shined from the reflected light waves.

"This place is beautiful," Jewel mustered in bewilderment.

"Anything for you, dear." Blu blushed as Jewel's gaze went to him.

"This is sweet, thank you for bringing me here. How'd you ever find it?" Jewel questioned

"Someone at the club told me about this one time. I was pretty drunk when I heard it so I'm surprised I remembered where it was, I didn't even think it was real until now." Blu just stared at the waterfall, a faint shimmer of a rainbow had crept into the mist as the sunlight beat down.

"But you know what would make this look even better?" Blu asked eyeing Jewel seductively.

"No, what?" Jewel said anticipating where it was going.

"You," Blu finished with a bright smile and wink

Jewel just blushed and turned to the side, "Well in that case Blu, I'll just have to grace the small pool with 'Our' presence."

Jewel quickly turned to the unsuspecting macaw and grabbed his wing. Before Blu could react, protest, or resist, Jewel had yanked Blu up into the air for a single second before diving straight into the water.

Blu flailed for a moment before regaining his bearings in the water. Wiping the water from his eyes he turned to face the newly soaked Jewel. The water added an extra depth of beauty to her features, darkening her feathers and making her sparkle majestically. Blu found himself lost in the sight, he had thought she was beautiful before, but nothing could compare to how she looked now.

Blu found himself overwhelmed with some strange sense of love that he hadn't felt before. He felt like he wanted Jewel, and needed her now.

"Are you just gonna stare at me all day?" Jewel said as she laughed and splashed water onto the dumbstruck macaw.

"You're just so... Just so..." Blu was at a loss for words. He couldn't think of anything at this moment other then spending each and every waking moment with her.

"You're just so beautiful, I can't stand it almost." Blu said in bewilderment.

Jewel just blushed as she walked slowly up to Blu, "Do you really mean that? Blu?"

Still lost for words, Blu just nodded his head slowly. The spot light that shone from the sun made the couple's embrace a truly spectacular sight to see. The azure radiated from their feathers as they both seemed to glow.

Blu kissed Jewel with such a raging fiery passion, he forgot that oxygen was a requirement for existing. He pulled away quickly and gasped deeply for breath before matching his eyes with hers again.

A new tone of playfulness overtook Jewel as she broke the hold they formed with their wings and took a few steps back. "Hey Blu, mind helping me bathe?" She turned to preen her lower right side.

Blu just blushed, "W-well I mean, don't you want some privacy?" Blu said with a nervous chuckle.

Jewel just looked up and met his gaze, "No.. The only thing I want is you, Blu. Nothing in this life could ever satisfy me more then you. I'll follow you no matter where you go, because I am yours and you are mine. Forever and always. Now come here, I can't reach this spot over here."

Blu obliged, helping preen out the dirt and grime from her majestic coat, only giving her a more pristine look then before. A few feathers needed plucking, and when they finished Jewel shined like never before.

Such beauty, Blu thought, how did a nerdy bird like me get so lucky?

Jewel lifted herself in the air and flapped some water out of her coat before plopping back into the water. She flashed Blu a mischievous look as she slowly started approaching him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? What are you doing?" Blu asked, edging away slowly.

"It's your turn, my little blue bird." Jewel said with a glare in her eyes. She gave off one small chuckle before tackling Blu, landing on top of him plunging him underwater. Blu's eyes opened underwater to meet Jewel, who was also submerged, winking at him.

Blu struggled for a bit but was allowed to resurface for air. "Now that we rinsed you, how about those dirty head feathers." Jewel winked as she gave Blu a quick kiss before beginning the cleaning process.

Once the couple were both washed and cleaned, Blu flew up to a nearby mango tree and plucked two fruit down. They enjoyed the fresh pulp of mango as they sat in the sun, bathing their wet feathers with heat in order to dry them. The mango also filled the air with a fresh scent, making the couple who ate smell of mangos.

"This is nice Blu, I could have a million days like this and never get tired of it." Jewel said leaning back a bit.

"Jewel, this is magical. I just.. I want you to know." Blu looked up at the waterfall that still pounded the earth. "I just want you to that I love you. I love you more then anything, mangos, Linda, heck even my own life."

Jewel just looked at her lover. She knew what he was saying was true, and this only made her feel a warm sense of loved belonging. "I can tell you really mean that," Jewel said solemnly. Blu just nodded his head gently as he finished the fruit in his talons.

* * *

Hours passed as the couple enjoyed their time together in peace. Love was truly the driving force for that day, engulfing both birds with an euphoric feeling. The sun had passed behind the clearing and the couple felt compelled to return the aviary, albeit reluctantly.

The flight was rather uneventful, but peaceful just the same. The peace they were experienced was a saving grace after their past few hectic days. It really allowed them to sit back and enjoy each other, taking life slowly.

Once they reached the aviary, Tulio had arranged them a plate of assorted nuts and fruits, leading them back into the breeding chamber that the two had called home. Blu and Jewel enjoyed the exotic tastes and stuffed themselves on the unique nuts that neither of them had tasted before.

When they finished eating, the couple sat and held each other's wings, staring into the other's eyes. Breaking the silence, the hatch on the main entrance swung open as Rafael entered the little humble private jungle.

"Man it's been a long while since I've seen you two!" Rafael exclaimed, landing right across from the couple. "How have you two been?"

"Well, we've had some rough times in the past few days," Blu chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his wing nervously, "But me and Jewel are doing great. Especially on a peaceful day like today."

Jewel just gave Blu a sly wink before facing Rafael, "So I heard you saved Nico. Lucky you were passing through to see him, we were all so scared that he was dead."

Memories from that night flashed back into Blu's head as he frowned and shook them from his memory.

"It was a really lucky thing I was there. I was actually on my way back home after I realized the club had been destroyed. Seeing the familiar small little yellow spec down below I flew down to investigate. Sure enough it was Nico, but not how I had hoped. I carried him from that alley straight here, so Tulio can look over him."

"And just how do you know Tulio?" Blu asked

"Well, I said it before, and this time it was lucky for Nico that he knew Rafael, and Rafael knows everyone!"

The trio laughed as they remembered back to the first time they all met.

"Speaking of earlier times, we can't think you enough for matching us together," Jewel said nudging Blu slightly.

"Without that time at the dance club, I'm not sure if I would have been able to even hold a conversation with Blu, let alone be his mate." Jewel finished as she gave Blu a giant, loving hug.

"Whoa whoa, so you two are 'mates' now huh?" Rafael said flashed Blu a thumbs up

"Well, not technically. We are just uh, 'chained-together' birds?" Blu said blushing deeply as he rested one wing over Jewel. "We haven't gotten that far yet."

"Well hey I'm not judging, and it's getting pretty late I should really return before Eva eats my head." Rafael gave the two macaws a quick goodbye before parting ways.

* * *

Silence once again engulfed the chamber. Jewel slowly turned her head and drilled Blu's skull with a seductive gaze from her azure irises. Blu just flashed her a friendly, nervous smile.

Her gaze explained everything. Her desires, her wishes, and her refusal to allow him to deny her again. Blu saw all of this and just sighed.

"Well I guess, one way or another this day was coming." He gave Jewel a slight wink before planting a loving kiss on her beak. "What's next?"

* * *

**As always:**

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	15. Night of Wonder

-(Blu)-

"Blu..." Jewel said, intensifying her seductive gaze on me, "There's no better time, the past two days we've had were amazing. What better way to end off our life in here in captivity?"

Her gaze was so alluring, I could get lost for hours within her deep sapphire eyes. Her tone was nothing short of seductive, it was the the very definition of it. And, to my knowledge, that's probably what her intent was... It was working.

"I know what you're thinking..." I stated, taking a few timid steps backwards to affirm my stance, nervousness crept it's way into my mind. "I-I still feel like we are not ready. This is such a pivotal point in our lives together."

Jewel simply placed her outer most 'pointer' primary feather over my beak, silencing me. "There's no denying me this time Blu. After all, I owe you after everything you've done for me, and especially after all the feelings and forgiveness you've showed for me."

"B-but Jewel," I tried to protest, but I knew deep down that it was useless. She had this sensual, demanding look in her eyes that drove me crazy. My mind was telling me 'NO'... but my body... my instincts, my heart, the very fiber of my being was telling 'Yes'.

Before I could process what was going on, Jewel made her advance over to me. Grabbing me by my head and pulling me in for a kiss. This was by far the most meaningful kiss I'd ever experienced, so many emotions soared through my heart up into my head filling me with a joyful bliss. Unlike the other times we had kissed, this time my eyes were open and free survey her beautiful face up close.

Never in my whole life had I experienced something like this, it was as if Jewel was confessing her undying love and loyalty to me. Promising me she would never leave my side, not for the rest of her life. Jewel finally relented her divine kiss as she pulled away, still holding the side of my head with her wings. Our eyes met, from that simple stare I wouldn't be surprised if Jewel could see directly into my soul, reading everything that consisted of my being.

Something inside me clicked. Logic and fear had prevented me from mating with Jewel before, even though all this time I had harbored an ever lasting lust for her. With this most recent gesture from heaven she performed on me, there was not a doubt in my mind she would ever betray my love again. Thus logic and fear lost.

I wanted more though, call me selfish, I wanted her to prove to me her love. I wanted her to show me that no matter what, she loved me.

"Jewel. I need to ask you something." I stammered out, still gasping for breath from our overwhelming kiss.

"What is it Blu?" She asked with a questioning gaze. Her body had developed this slight side wards swaying motion as she swung her cute tail feathers side to side.

"I need you to prove to me, without a shadow of a doubt, that no matter where life takes either of us, you will always be by my side. I never want to let you go Jewel, never for the rest of my life. Please, just prove to me, only then will I submit to your wishes."

Taking me up on my offer she smiled brightly, "Blu, my love for you is like the undying fires of the sun. Yes, sometimes we may or may not have our good times, but no matter what my love will always raise the next day with renewed strength.

"My love for you is greater than anything I have ever treasured before in my life. I realized that it's the best thing I have. It's the best quality of me, being with you, that is. When I gave my life of solitude and freedom up to come save you, I pledged that day, that no matter what happened to me or you I will love and pursue you unconditionally. I accepted that I may have been flying to my death, my capture, or even my doom. But as long as I was with you, no fate could ever befall me to make me regret that decision."

Never in my short, little life had I ever been told such meaningful words as the ones Jewel had said to me. Never had I ever felt so wanted, a serene sense of belonging. My self esteem renewed, I took my initiative, pulling Jewel into another kiss. Her sweet taste sent spirals of pure ecstasy pouring through me. That, coupled with her sweet mango-tinted breath unlocked my inner lustful desires.

Before I knew what happened, I let my instincts take over. I picked my little jewel of the forest up and pushed her up against a tree, never breaking our beak lock. Leaning into her, my wings subconsciously searched her body as if scouting everything out for what was to come.

If some one were to come up to me two weeks ago and tell me that I'd be doing what I was with who I was right now, I'd call them crazy and insane. Me and Jewel's love came a long way, and through the trials that proved it's resilience, our love was cemented deep within our souls for all of eternity.

Nothing was going to stop us, pulling away I asked Jewel perhaps the stupidest thing you can before copulation...

"Are you ready?" I squawked, gasping for more oxygen.

Jewel just gave me the most questionable look before laughing so hard she started coughing. "You're silly Blu, all this time you've put me off and off and now you're asking me if 'I'M' ready. That's just too funny." Jewel gave me one loving wink before pulling my face and inch away from hers. "I'm more then ready Blu, let's do this."

=**INTERMISSION**=

* * *

**A/N: For the full scene, go to my profile. If you can't stand lemons, skip over it and keep reading. I'd suggest that you go read it though, if you can stand a lemon. In my opinon it's one of the best written things I've done so far.**

* * *

Falling off to the side, my chest rose and fell with each passing gasp of breath. I turned my head to eye my beloved mate, who just sat there still in shock of our copulation. Her eyes found mine again, such a sweet abyss of blue. Azure was a color that I soon found myself in love with. It was definitely my favorite color, but when it came to those eyes, it captivated me.

"I could stare into your eyes all day," I bursted out, obviously out of breath.

Jewel just blushed inwardly and nodded. We sat there for a while, wrapping our wings together for warmth and comfort. The silence allowed both of us to gather and process our thoughts about the events that had just occurred.

The silenced engulfed me, and before I knew it, I passed onto the void that we know as sleep. Dreaming the most beautiful dream of Jewel and three small chicks. I saw our little dwelling we called our home, it overlooked the beautiful waterfall that me and Jewel shared earlier that day. I saw our life, our happiness, and in that dream I saw a future... My future.

* * *

Jewel and I awoke to our chamber door being tossed open wildly. Tulio marched in with his chest out and a smirk on his face. In his hands he adorned a plate brimming with fruit. Giving me a sly wink he set the plate down and greeted us.

"Good morning you two!" The overjoy look on his face told me everything. I slowly turned my head to take a quick glance at the camera that was subsequently point right in our direction.

"You're despicable.. You psychopath.." I muttered as I realized that Tulio had probably witnessed everything.

Jewel turned me with a questioning look but I just shoot my head..

"What do you mean Blu?" she probed further,

"Nothing... Don't worry about it." I hung me head lower as I inched closer to the food that he had brought. Not wishing to be in the crazy doctor's presence anymore, I shooed him away with my wings.

Tulio just laughed as he gave me a sly thumbs up and walked out the room. Turning to Jewel I handed her a mango.

"Crazy night, huh, mate." Jewel cooed, she stared at me lovingly with those beautiful bright eyes.

"Here," I said picking up a mango, smiling brightly as I held it up to her, "A toast to us!"

Jewel flashed me another questioning look. "You um, err.. You raise your mango and touch them together."

"Why would I do that?" Jewel said, already chewing a bite of her mango.

"It's an American tradition, it's kinda like say 'congratulations'. Some people do it in celebration of certain things or to agree on something. Usually they click cups, but we only have mangos, so.." I gestured in the air with my mango.

Jewel's angelic laugh filled the air, "You Americanos and your weird traditions, no?" She said with a different accent as if trying to mock me.

We both gave our toasts and went to enjoying our meal. There were so many fruits that we couldn't finish the whole plate. We were both noticably more hungry due to the energy we burned the night before.

"Blu, help me wash off. I want to clean up after our little 'ordeal'," Jewel said winking and hip-checking me. I don't understand why some females do that, but it drives me crazily in love.

"Sure thing, my feathers are sticking together." I admitted as I walked with her over to the miniature river that flowed across our habitat.

Turning to Jewel I have gave her a sly look as I went to preening the feathers of her lower mid section, getting all the grime out. The process only took about five minutes, and when I had completed my task, Jewel shimmered again with renewed vigor.

I turned away and started working on myself, but before I got too far Jewel grabbed my shoulder with a wing and spun me around.

"Oh don't think I won't repay you, stud," She smirked at the new name she placed upon me, working my coat of feathers to clean them up.

"That's strange, just a week ago I was a 'pet' to you. Now I'm your stud, huh?" I smiled deeply and relaxed at the soothing feeling of having my feathers cleaned.

Jewel just glanced up with her eyes without breaking pace and I could see a glint of happiness in her quick look. When Jewel finished the cleaning process, I shook my self dry and refluffed my feathers.

"What should we do next, Blu? I mean, we are all cleaned up now." Jewel smiled softly as she stretched her wings back, shaking the rest of the sleepiness out of her.

"Let's give Nico a quick visit, then we'll stop by Rafael's and catch up with Eva and the kids. Then how's about a date?" I said suggesting a plan.

"Sounds good. Do you have anything in mind?" Jewel asked innocently.

"I think I know just the place, but it's going to be a surprise." I gave her a quick wink before lifting off in the air, "Come on! Maybe Nico is awake."

I quickly propelled myself towards the hatch with Jewel close behind.


	16. A Deadly Attack

Nico was awake when Blu and Jewel entered the room. The couple had a new positive aura around them, as if they two had undergone changes, but for the better. Blu was noticeably lighter on his feet and more happier than usual.

"Morning Nico!" Blu called as he entered the room. Him and Jewel swooped down beside the still immobilized canary.

"H-hey guys, ugh. How you two doin'? You guys are lookin' good." Nico said struggling to sit up and greet the two Spix macaws. Pain was obviously in his tone, and rightfully so after the near death experience he had overcome.

"We're doing better than ever, how are you feeling?" Jewel inquired as she observed the bandaging that served to protect and immobilize the canary's limbs.

"Well, I'm in quite a lot of pain... But now that you mention it, I can barely move my left wing and talon, my back itches so bad right now, eating is the worst thing ever, and oh PLEASE don't get me started on going to the bathroom." Nico winced as he recollected from past experience.

"Heh, w-well sounds like you're having fun," Blu joked as he shook his head at his own comment, "Sorry you're as bad off as you are, but think of it like this: Not many birds can take a hit like that and recover."

Nico just gave a short pained chuckle, "Yea, you know me. Nico the fighter." Nico shifted his positioning on the padding in which he rested. "Pedro went off not to long ago. Kipo came by and told Pedro he needed help finishing up the last few touches on the new club venue. He said it should be ready around the time darkness rolls in, if you two are interested."

"Perhaps, but my little lover bird here said he had a surprise for me." Jewel said eyeing Blu suspiciously. "I'm curious to see if he can live up to his word and make tonight a magical one."

"Heh, w-well it can't be more magical then last night, sorry to say." Blu muttered to Jewel, trying to keep his voice down so that Nico didn't pick up on it.

"Whoa-ho! Hey you two, what happened last night?" Nico exclaimed a new upbeat vibe in his voice.

Jewel gave Blu a quick wing to the ribs, similar to an elbow jab, before concocting an excuse, "We had a nice, breath taking sunset and dinner last night.. That's all." Jewel smiled nervously as Nico eyed her suspiciously.

"Boy was it breath taking..." Blu said lost in his thoughts as he remembered the night before.

"Hey, I knew you birds would come around!" Nico said, looking past Jewel's lie. Both Nico and Blu chuckled a bit after giving each other thumbs up.

"I can't believe this Blu!" Jewel said in a hysterical tone, "I can't take you anywhere anymore!" Jewel chuckled as she shook her head and turned back to Nico, "Okay, you caught us. Anyways, how much longer did the doctor say you'd be in this stupid place?"

"Umm, a month and a half at least..." Nico said dismayed, the true damage that was done to his body would never be fully healed, but the fact that he'd be able to be fully functional again brought hope to him again.

Tulio walked up and patted Blu softly on the back, "Hey! There's my two favorite macaws!"

Blu jumped back a bit and squawked in protest, still annoyed and disgusted with the ornithologist.

"I've got to take Nico up for a few check-ups. Plus he needs his breakfast and medicine." Tulio reached past Blu and Jewel and cupped Nico up into his hands very softly.

"Well guys, I guess I'll see you later," Nico said, "Don't be strangers, and stay active Blu!" Nico winked at Blu as Tulio carried him off. Jewel buried her face in her wings and just sighed before giving Blu a death stare.

"Let's keep it more secretive next time, genius." Jewel said frustrated.

"Sorry, I can't help but show my feelings for the bird that stole my heart." Blu winked at her, admiring her blue crystalline eyes. Just just returned his smile and gave him a hug.

"I love you Blu, you know that?"

"I love you two, c'mon let's go out to the jungle for a bit. We need to pay Eva and Rafael's family a visit." Blu opened his wings, ready to take off before Jewel cut him off.

"Maybe it's not a good idea to go visit those two.. Considering it's not just two, but twenty in all?"

Blu remembered back to their first encounter, remembering how vicious the children had 'playfully' attacked them.

"Um, w-well perhaps you're right." Blu clucked nervously, "Then what should we do?"

Jewel thought for a minute, trying to come up with some sort of activity for the two to do. It took her some deep thinking, going over all the possibilities Rio had for them.

"Why don't we go looking for a hollow out in the jungle!" Jewel's eyes brightened up, "It'll be like planning for the future, finding a place to settle down once we leave this stupid bird house for good."

Blu just gave a short shrug, "Sure I'm ok with anything. Have any ideas in terms of location?"

"I've got no idea... Do you?"

Blu gave another shrug, "Depends on what we need in a hollow, in the terms of location. Security, food, water, whether or not we want to be close to civilization, and much more. I guess we won't really know until we do some searching."

Jewel smiled as she turned towards a conveniently ajar window. "Guess there's only one thing to do; Fly out and go searching for a new place!"

Jewel kicked off the lab table and swooped out of the building through the window. Blu, without a second of hesitation, recreated her motions and followed her out to the jungle.

* * *

Blu admired scenic journey through the jungle. All of the bright, alive features of the jungle that Blu witnessed during his last visit were out and thriving again. Not only did he admire the jungle around him, but he had the best seat in the house in terms of watching Jewel, the love of his life.

She glistened in the faint rays of sun that passed through the canopy every time she flew through an opening. Her recently washed coat made her seem like the most alive and vibrant feature of the jungle. Blu counted his blessings again as he reminded himself that what he was looking at was his mate. 'His' new family. Jewel was everything Blu had, and he knew that other birds envied him when they flew by.

The couple worked a decent amount of distance into the jungle before they came to a stop. It was mid-day and they worked up an appetite from all the flying that they had been doing. Giving a few squawks ahead of time, Jewel landed on a mango tree and began inspecting for fresh fruits. Blu landed a branch above her and ruffled his feathers before laying flat on the branch to look down and watch Jewel.

"Hey, Blu, mind helping me with this one? It's to high for me to reach from here." Jewel said struggling to get a grip on the fresh fruit.

"Sure thing dear, gimmie a second," Blu released a deep loving sigh as he broke the dreamy gaze he had placed on Jewel. Reaching down he swiped the fruit free from the tree and let it drop into Jewel's grasp.

"Aren't you going to eat too?" Jewel said slicing the fruit open with one of her talons. Juices squirted our and partially covered Jewel's coat, giving her a sweet scent.

"Sorry, I got distracted by your beauty." Blu said shaking his head and reaching up to pluck another fruit.

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting kinda strange since last night. Something wrong?" Jewel questioned as she chomped down on the fruit, he gaze still up on Blu.

"Love makes you do strange things. Love makes you change. I can't explain it other then that, you're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen Jewel. I love you."

"Oh, stop. I'm quite flattered." Jewel said half blushing half rolling her eyes. "You're crazy." A playful smile filled Jewel's face and Blu knew she was only joking around.

When the couple finished eating, they tackled the next item on their agenda. Finding a home. Many hollows surrounded the area, but in terms of location, the two couldn't distinguish one tree from the next. In fact, they weren't exactly sure where they were. They made one mistake in house hunting, not looking for landmarks.

"Let's try that one over there, it looks rather spacious and the mango tree is right next to it." Jewel said signaling with he head to the tree in question. Once inside, Blu made note of the large nest that was already occupying the hollow.

"I think this is taken, and besides we don't even know where we are right now. The only way we can be sure in terms of direction, in accordance to Rio, is the sun." Blu took a few quick steps inside before turning around to face Jewel.

Jewel just shook her head, "Well I'm out of ideas. What should we do now?" Her gaze set on Blu, she stared at him for a second before realizing he wasn't looking at her. Jewel slowly looked down and noticed a third shadow coming from right behind her. Jewel looked back up to Blu, who was pale in the cheek feathers and had a look of terror on his face. Slowly, Jewel turned around to meet the creature that was behind her.

It was a harpy eagle. The massive predator stood at the entrance of the hollow, blocking the only exit.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The black eagle asked in a dark tone, "How nice of you two morsels to stop by. Hey honey, look who came to give us a visit." The eagle turned his ash colored head and stepped to the side, allowing another eagle, twice the size of the first, to land next to him.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise! I didn't feel like leaving home again tonight anyways." The carnivorous eagle smacked her beak hungrily. "Looks like you two ran outta luck, but from one couple to another, don't take this personally. It's the food chain after all."

The smaller male eagle gave a sly smirk as he planted a light kiss on his mate, "Man I love being the apex predator!" Turning to Blu and Jewel he eyed the couple sinisterly, Opening his wings in anticipation, "Let me teach you what apex predation is all about, care to hear?"

Fear and shock prevented either macaw from answering. They both knew there was no escape and that becoming a quick meal was now an impending doom they both shared. The two eagles just snickered as the male took a quick step forward and leaped onto Blu, constricting his neck has he came down on top of him with a thud.

Blu struggled and started coughing for air, but he knew that there was no escape. One quick swipe would end his poor little life. He looked at Jewel who only stared down at her mate with fear in her eyes. A fear Blu had only seen once before but he couldn't quite tell from where.

Jewel backed up slightly as the larger female walked slowly up to her, smacking her down to the ground with her wing with immense force and pouncing on top of Jewel too.

"Give us one reason why we should spare your lives, birds. I'm feeling quite generous, but I'm also ravenously hungry. I have to for more then myself ya'know!" The gigantic female eagle gave her mate quick loving look as she returned her gaze onto Jewel.

Tears filled Jewel's eyes as she turned to Blu, "I love you, but it doesn't seem we can get out of this one." Jewel turned to the large eagle that restricted her movement, "Make it quick..."

Blu couldn't believe how bad the events had turned in just a manner of a few seconds. Of all places that they had to check out, they stumbled upon a harpy eagle nest.

"I love you too, Jewel. My only regret is not being able to raise a family with you. To not be able to protect you, I've failed to do so. And I failed to save our species, do you forgive me?"

Jewel just nodded her head, Blu glanced one last time Jewel's angelic eyes before he closed his own, accepting the tragic event life had thrown at him.

"What do you mean, 'save the species'?" The female eagle roared, shaking Jewel as she demanded an answer.

Jewel just gave the eagle a terrified look before whimpering in the faintest voice, "W-we, are.. Um, we are the last two Spix macaws?" Jewel gave a nervous smile, hoping to appeal to the emotional side of the female eagle, but the female was uneffected by her statement. Instead the eagle repositioned herself on Jewel's stomach, ready to attack. But before she was able to kill Jewel, she felt something underneath her talons, staring down with a growing sense of realization.

"Pfft, then savor the moment dear, we are about to make history! Killing off and eating the last two Spix macaws! What an amazing story to tell our children when they get here." The male eagle prepped himself for his fatal strike on Blu before a black wing smacked him off his prey.

The female eagle had released Jewel and pushed the other eagle off of Blu. "Have some respect, Carlos! Would you not rather tell the story of how you mercifully spared the two last blue macaws? Besides, I want our children to one day be able to enjoy fresh Spix macaw."

"Let the kids taste Spix macaw while they are in your belly! I'm hungry!" Jewel just gave one quick glance at the dominant female before inching herself over to Blu, pulling him up and slowly inching towards the hallow's entrance

"I can't let you do this, Carlos."

"Honey, are you serious? We are given a free meal and you expect me to give up on it that easily? And what is this stupid 'mercy' you speak of? We are apex predators. APEX PREDATORS. We don't show mercy, there is no such thing to us." Carlos exploded as he angrily stared into his mate's dark black eyes.

"Show some humanity, Carlos."

"I don't care what you say, I'm going after my dinner!" Carlos quickly pushed the large female aside and caught his gaze on the two escaping macaws. "You're dead!"

Blu and Jewel flashed one quick look at the angry harpy eagle before he made his charge. Bolting for the exit the couple dashed out and took to the skies as fast as their miniature bodies could take them.

Before they had reached twenty meters away from the hollow, Jewel felt a strong tug on her tail feathers as the harpy eagle swooped down upon her, dragging her to the ground.

"AAHH, Blu! Help!" Jewel was taken down to the ground and pinned down as Carlos slammed into her. Before Carlos could sink his talons into her flesh, Blu dove down and tackled Carlos, with full force, off of Jewel. The two males wrestled for a bit, clawing at each other before an even larger force intervened.

The female eagle landed on top of both of the males, pulling the two apart before releasing her grip on Blu.

"Don't you ever hit me again, especially when I'm carrying your children, Carlos. Control yourself now or I will make you regret your foolish behavior."

Jewel quickly dashed up to Blu and tried to tend to his various scratch injuries. Luckily, Blu had fended off Carlos well enough before he had sustained any fatal attacks.

"Let's bail on out of here before things get out of hand again," Jewel whispered, pulling Blu to his feet.

The two macaws backed away silently, eyeing the two arguing couple, before taking to the skies. The female eagle turned and gave one last look at Jewel before she was out of sight, holding her own bulging stomach. "Besides Carlos, pregnancy is a beautiful thing. Those two macaws have a brighter future then we can ever imagine."

Once they were in the clear Blu's adrenaline emptied from his system, and a new wave of pain took him by surprise where he suffered minor cuts from the male macaw.

"I think I'm done house hunting for today, honey." Blu said with the most serious face Jewel had ever seen. Jewel just started laughing hysterically, "No kidding, huh? Yea I think we've had enough for today."

"Ugh, lets stop by Linda's I'm sure she can help us rest up a bit before the surprise." Blu said wincing at the developing pain.

"Are you sure we should still continue with tonights plans?" Jewel asked questioningly.

"Yea, Just give me a hour to recover, besides I need Linda for the surprise in the first place."

Jewel just flashed Blu another questioning gaze before turning to change direction._ To Linda's house_, Jewel thought,_ I wonder what Blu is thinking..._

* * *

**Sorry for the late chapter... Had some personal problems come up... Sigh***

**Anyways, How am I doing? Lemme know in a review! - I'd really appreciate it, and thanks for those who do review constantly. Keeps me going.**


	17. Dining With Humans

**Sorry for the longer then usual wait.. Here you go!**

* * *

Blu winced as Linda applied antiseptic to a small cut along his right wing. "I can't believe you survived your encounter. I mean, why were you out in the jungle in the first place? That place sounds too dangerous, just stay with me Blu!" Linda let the excess solution pour into the bathroom sink as she went to applying a small, clear liquid bandage that would still allow Blu to move freely, but seal up the wound and offer protection.

Blu just gave her a friendly smile and shook his head 'no'. Blu's heart belonged to someone else now, as much as he loved Linda for all the time he spent with her growing up, someone else occupied that space now.

Blu's attention turned back to the note pad that he used to retell their near death experience to Linda. Rereading his handiwork Blu finally noticed what he wrote.

'We went out to search for a home'

_Wow_, Blu thought, _me and Jewel looking for a home. Me and her, I guess this far in I should realize we are a couple... That sweet fact just never gets old to me._

A warm smiled filled his beak as Blu's gaze drifted up to Jewel who was perched up in an open window, peering outside. Her voluptuous plumage, that had been ruffled from their encounter with the harpy eagles, was fixed back to it's natural form that seemed to glisten to Blu as a ray of sun shone down on her. His heart fluttered for a second, before another spike of pain hit him as Linda applied more antiseptic.

Letting a light squawk, Blu looked up to Linda with an agitated look. "Whoops! Sorry Blu."

Jewel's gaze returned to the inside of the building, smiling brightly at Blu. "You know what Blu, that's the third time you've saved my life. I really owe you, more then you can ever imagine."

Blu blushed for a second before shrugging, "It's nothing. Really, I mean.. It's what mates do! I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you. It's my job to protect you."

Jewel glided down to be eye level with Blu, staring into his hazey chocolate eyes. "Blu, I wouldn't be able to live without you. I'd rather die then lose you. It's something I realized when I gave up my past life and desires, you are the only one that I have. You are my life."

"Jewel?"

"Yeah?"

Blu quickly pulled Jewel in and kissed her. The two closed both of their eyes and held each other, enjoying the embrace they shared.

"Oh, well, hm.." Linda said backing away for a second to give the two birds a moment.

"I love you Jewel, I promise that no matter what, I'll be there for you. To protect you, and to protect our future family." Blu finally said as he pulled away and reveled in her sapphire eyes.

"I can't get over you beautiful eyes, Jewel. For some reason, I could get lost for hours in them."

Jewel blushed and just smiled, "You've told me before, you really mean that don't you."

"More then you know... I read this strange thing once before, during my time in Minnesota. It goes like this, 'Blue eyes say, love me or I die. Brown eyes say, love me or I kill you,'." Blu averted his gaze, the sun that shone into the room filled them with a dim natural light.

Jewel let off a light chuckle, "That's silly, but just to be sure, I love you Blu. Forever and always. Please don't kill me." Jewel smiled jokingly.

"I would never dream of it, I just promise to love you full heartedly, just don't leave me."

"I too, would never dream of that, either. I already gave you my promise, I love you Blu. We share a connection now, me and you."

Linda grabbed Blu's wing to apply one last bandage, being careful not to disrupt him too much. When she finished she accompanied the birds into the kitchen where she had fresh fruits waiting.

While the two birds dug into their meal, Linda just sat down and stared at Blu.

"You've come a long way, Blu." Linda gave Blu a loving smile, "And in such a short time! I'm going to miss you when you leave for the jungle. You have to promise to come visit every once in a while."

Blu nodded as he stuffed an orange into his beak. Remembering the plans he had for tonight, he dropped the pulp that was in his hand and headed over to note pad that served as his only communications with the human.

Scribbling a few words down, Blu handed it to Linda who observed and interpreted what Blu had wrote. After she had finished her read, she looked up and winked slyly at Blu, "Sure we can make it happen. Why not? I'm sure Tulio will want to come too."

Blu gave a short shrug before proceeding to finish his little snack. Stretching a bit, Blu put one wing over Jewel's shoulder and pointed at the TV.

"Let's sit and burn some time until night hits, I have special Dinner plans for us."

"Dinner plans? Why can't we just go and eat at the aviary?"

"Because this is going to special."

* * *

Night had engulfed Rio. Darkness severed as a veil that covered the landscape, suppressing the massive amount of life. Blu, Jewel, Tulio, and Linda had just arrived at the finest restaurant in all of Rio.

Due to the time, the dinner rush was still in effect, so there was limited parking. However, because of their reservations, they instantly obtained seats upon entering a building. Many eyes caught the attention of the two macaws, and many people wondered why two people would bring birds to a restaurant.

"May I take your order?" The waiter asked after he had seated the four. "Also, do you mind if I ask about your birds? What's so special about them?"

"Um, what's so special..?" Tulio blurted, "Why, these are the last two blue macaws in existence!"

"Hey Blu, what should I get to drink?" Jewel asked to the side.

"I recommend this fruit blast smoothie! It looks really good." Blue replied quickly as he pointed to the drink, informing the waiter of what he wanted. Jewel did the same.

The waiter gave Tulio a surprised look as he took drink orders, "You don't say? So you work for the aviary?"

"Why yes, we are trying our best to take care of these two so they can hopefully save their species."

The waiter departed for their drinks. The vibrant restaurant flourished with various chatter, eyes floated around giving questioning glances towards Blu and Jewel. Before long the waiter came back with the drinks as well as a fruit salad.

"Complements for the two endangered couple." The waiter said with a wink. "Now how about food orders?"

Blu and Jewel ordered elegant looking fruit bowls while Tulio and Linda ordered and assortment or meats and vegetables.

Jewel eyed the light red drink that was placed in front of her before taking a small taste, "Oh my, Blu, this smoothie..." Jewel took another huge gulp, "It's amazing! It's sweet like a mango, but this taste, I've never had it before."

"It's strawberry flavored. It's not how actual strawberries taste, but it's close and a lot sweeter!"

Jewel gulped down the drink at an incredibly fast rate, clutching her head and rearing up backwards after she was done.

"Blu... What is this.. Ugh, pain? I feel like my head is going to... Explode!" Jewel said wincing at the sharp pain.

"Haha, that's called a brain freeze. You get one if you drink something cold to fast." Blu walked slowly over to Jewel, helping her sit up and comforting her.

The pain that ebbed away at her brain slowly subsided and she eventually stood up and grabbed casually at the salad. "Ugh, why do all good things have to have consequences." Jewel muttered, eating a couple small nuts.

"Such is a cruel reality of life." Blu said chuckling, joining Jewel to snack a small bit.

The two snacked down on the various bits of the salad, making a noticeable dent before restraining theirselves, leaving room for the main course. It was only when they sat silent and looked around that they noticed the multitude of eyes that pounded them with attention.

Jewel shifted uneasily, "They are all kinda staring at us Blu... It's creepy."

Blu looked up noticing the glances, "Yea, um.. That's weird." Blu tugged on Linda's sleeve and motioned quickly with his head at other tables, directing her attention to the various stares they acquired. Linda slumped down as she whispered to Tulio, also informing him of the situation.

A small boy approached the table by himself, "Ma'am?" he spoke in Portuguese, "I'm sorry but, can I see your pets?"

Linda gave a quick questioning glace at Tulio who just shrugged, "Sure kid, but be nice they are very special birds. The last two Spix macaws in the world perhaps!"

The boy's mouth dropped wide open at the realization of such a rare sight. He quickly and shyly backed away and returned to his parents, informing them of the news. Before long, a small crowd of people surrounded admiring the two rare and endangered macaws.

Blu sensed how uncomfortable Jewel was, even though she had a convincing front of happiness. He scooted closer and wrapped a wing over her to help calm her nerves. She just flashed him the most gracious look before peering at all the humans that stood taking pictures and asking Tulio and Linda questions.

"Well this turned into a disaster," Blu muttered to Jewel. "This was really unexpected... Guess we can't really go anywhere where there will be humans." Blu slumped down in disappointment that his perfectly planned dinner had been ruined by a cluster of people.

"I enjoyed the drink.. When's the food getting here?" Jewel said, trying to salvage the night.

As if on cue, the waiter arrived with a platter of food, maneuvering through the crowd of people in an attempt to serve the four with their food. Placing each plate in front of their respected person, the waiter made a quick getaway and managed to get back into the kitchen.

"This looks amazing Blu!" Jewel said, ignoring the crowd of people watching her.

The fruit platter was amassed in a artistic way, not only this, but jello also accompanied the fruits. Three different colors of jello represented the three different fruits that occupied the center. Jewel had never seen anything like it before, the jello that held the fruit amazed her and in her curiosity, she probed it with her beak, watching the fruit stay still as the whole thing giggled.

"What is this Blu? I just ordered whatever you did." Jewel questioned without taking her eyes off the strange mass that encased her fruit.

"It's called jello, its really tasty! Try it!" Blu said, digging into his own meal.

Jewel eyed the weird substance before plunging her beak into it, ripping out chunks of the sweet gooey material. Jewel was immediately assaulted with an amazing taste she never tasted before. Chomping down a few more bites, she quickly devoured what remained of the jello including the various cherries, bits of mango, and chunks of strawberries. Such an array of colors and fruit really made the whole dinning experience unique and special.

Jewel followed up her meal with slower gulps of her refilled smoothie that a waiter set in front of her mid feast. Jewel made a point to take slower sips as to avoid another painful brain freeze. By the time Jewel had finished she espied Blu finishing up his meal as well. Blu stretched when we was done, hopping down onto the cushion of the booth below the table.

"Come here for a bit, Jewel." Blu said patting a spot next to him.

The crowd of people had died down a bit, and evolved into people waving, and taking pictures as they walked by. Jewel joined Blu on the miniature couch and cuddled with him a bit, allowing their stomachs to settle and enjoying the dim lit atmosphere of the restaurant.

"That was amazing, we'll have to do this again sometime, hopefully when there are less humans with prying eyes." Jewel said rubbing her head on Blu's shoulder.

"Yea, that was such an amazing dinner. I'm stuffed!" Blu placed his wing over Jewel's body as she leaned against him. Blu let out a deep sigh as his stomach churned, satisfied by the influx of food that had been introduced.

Tulio and Linda finished their meal as they noticed the two macaws snuggling up. Catching a waiter, Tulio turned and asked for the check.

"Well sir, you guys are in luck." The waiter said with a giant smile. "That man at the bar over there paid for your entire meal." The waiter pointed over to a man who had his back facing the group. He wore a large brown trench coat and had shaggy brown hair that protruded under the large cowboy hat that engulfed his head. His shoulders were slumped and ever so often he took a shot of straight hard alcohol.

Blu's gaze followed the waiter's point and met with the man. "Hey Jewel, does he look familiar?" Blu asked as he squinted to decipher the man's identity.

Jewel just shrugged as she closed her eyes and gave a small, satisfied moan, similar to a cat purr.

The man finished his alcoholic shot before standing up, placing money on the counter. He gathered himself and made way for the door, stopping right before the exit.

He gave a quick turn and glanced at Blu. Realization immediately hit Blu in the face. Much to Blu's horror, the man that stood there looking at him, was Cliff.

Cliff pointed his pointer finger at Blu with his thumb extended mimicking a gun. With his gun gesture he took aim at Blu and pulled the trigger raising his hand in the air from the impromptu recoil before snickering to himself and leaving the building.

Blu was lost for words, mouth wide from shock he quickly thought over the ominous omen that had just occurred.

"C'mon Blu, it's time to go!" Linda said picking up her things and stretching up sluggishly due to her satisfying meal. Tulio did the same and proceeded to carry the two macaws to the car, driving them back home to the safety and solitude of their artificial habitat.

* * *

**Anyways, I felt like we needed a nice romantic chapter to cool down from that little episode with those Eagles.. and hm, Cliff is a crazy character..**

**Kudos If you can pick out any of the many references I used in this chapter. Also, fun fact: Chapter 15 is the most viewed chapter aside from the parent chapter. 'surprisingly'...**

**How am I doing guys? Leave a review, I try my best to reply to each one!**


	18. Cliff's Story

**A/N: I felt Cliff needed some well deserved back story. I used a different style of writing, but I hope it's still acceptable for you guys. I tried to incorporate Blu and Jewel scenes periodically. I separated Cliff's parts from Blu and Jewels with the two sets of three periods each time to avoid confusion.**

**If nothing else, this chapter explains how no one person is ever born evil. Events from people's lives form them, shape them to how they are, and effect how they act. Cliff is no exception.**

**Edit: Had to make a couple changes because I realized I was half asleep writing/revising the end. Opps...**

**Enjoy:**

* * *

Life really dealt out some mean blows to Cliff through out his life. His bitterness was never inherent. All of the hardships that faced morphed him into the cold hearted being he is today.

The early years of Cliff flood together in one huge mess of pain and heartache. Being the son of a drunken abusive Texas rancher, he found himself lonely and outcasted. His mother was also a drunkard as well as a major crack-head to cope with her husband and her horrid life. Days consisted of hard manual labor to keep the ranch going unless he had school. Nights consisted of Cliff being beaten for chores he already completed, being confined into his room was his only refugee from the hateful world his father showed him at home.

Many times, through his parent's drunken fights, they would put all the blame on Cliff. Claiming how they never should of had him in the first place, blaming him that he was the reason for all of the problems in the world. Cliff eventually developed a hate for himself over all other things, just to the fact his parents put him through so much hell.

Cliff will never forget the time his mother threw a bottle at him and yelled the four most painful words he had ever heard. "I never loved you." - Words that still haunt him to this very day, words that sculpted his hate for his parents, his life, and the whole world.

School was the only place Cliff was truly safe. Due to his abusive dad that sculpted his personality, however, he was often looked at as antisocial and picked on. He made a name for himself as a trouble maker, getting into fights and experimenting with drugs as early as twelve years old.

Cliff had only one friend in the maddening insanity of his youth. Benjamin, or Ben for short. The two were inseparable, always talking and hanging out after school before Cliff was forced to return to the unstable hell hole he called a family. The thing that drew Cliff to Ben was Ben's open and friendly personality. Ben had a relatively normal child hood as opposed to Cliff.

The two sat for hours discussing various subjects day after day, getting through the troubles of their lives. One day Ben brought up the future, a subject that Cliff never put any thought into, being trapped in the situation that he was.

Cliff never forgot the words Ben, his only friend and the only person that ever cared for him, said that very day.

* * *

"Ya ever think 'bout where you wanna go when ya grow old?" Benjamin said in his Texan accent as he looked up at the clouds, stretching back on a park bench.

"Never really gave 'er a thought," Cliff said as he puffed out a hit from the cigar he had stolen from his dad.

"Really? Ya never thought 'bout whatcha wanna do when ya move out from yer parents?" Ben turned his head upwards to look at his friend.

"Never really thought I'd live to see tha day." Cliff spat sitting up from where he laid under the tree, "Why ya askin'?"

"Oh I dunno, I've been jest doin' some thinkin' as of late," Ben stared off into the dry dusty field that lay before them. "There's a place I heard of once, tropical with tha best beaches ya ever done seen." Ben stretched back as he flashed a giant smile to Cliff.

"What's so good 'bout some damn tropical beach? We got beaches here in good ol' Texas." Cliff spat, taking another puff before continuing, "Besides, Texas is the only place we ever done known."

Ben just shrugged, "I dunno, I figure that I'd wanna visit 'er jest once. I've heard its got it some of the best views in tha whole world. Beautiful vast jungles that I reckon any person could git lost it. And all them unique animals they have down there."

Cliff eyed his friend, "Whatcha talkin' here is nonsense. Ain't nothing better then good ol' Texas."

Ben frowned and pushed himself up into a sitting position, "Cliff, with as many problems Texas has showed you, do you really wanna live in a place like this fer tha rest of yer life?"

Cliff returned his serious gaze before looking down in deep thought. "What's this here magical place you talkin' 'bout?"

"It's called... Rio."

...

* * *

...

Jewel awoke from her deep slumber with a massive migraine. Her head throbbed excruciatingly every time she moved her eyes around. Trying to focus herself, she slowly pushed herself up with her wings. Blu was still fast asleep, lost within the sweet serenity of his dreams.

Jewel wobbled out to the edge of their hollow. The bright light that resonated from above the artificial jungle burned her eyes, intensifying the pain of her migraine.

"Ugh," She muttered to herself, "My head hurts soooooo much." Jewel squinted her eyes observing the lifeless foliage of the fake jungle.

"I'm sorry to hear that," A voice called from behind her, sending another sharp pain coursing through her head.

"Shhh, Blu. Not so loud, it really just makes it hurt worse." Jewel said putting one wing over her head in an attempt to deaden the pain.

"Opps, sorry!" Blu whispered as he walked up to Jewel and grabbed her wings. "Maybe Tulio can help you out, we need to eat some breakfast anyway."

The two macaws slowly descended their hollow and walked out into the cold hard floor of the human world. Holding Jewel to comfort her, Blu padded on along in search of Tulio.

Tulio was found in the recovery chamber helping out a small canary with it's broken wing. "There you go buddy! All better now. Just let it rest and in a couple of weeks you should be back to normal." Tulio said as he finished putting a cast on the bird's wing. He gently picked the bird up and proceeded to carry him out into an artificial habitat before he noticed the two macaws.

"Good morning!" Tulio said, setting the bird in it's cage, "How are you two doing? Any eggs yet Jewel?"

Jewel just narrowed her eyes in disgust, removing one wing from her head to hesitantly check her belly area for any unusual hardness before shaking her head 'No'.

"Well that's just too bad, something wrong with your head?"

Blu nodded quickly pointer to her head, indicating that the problem was a headache.

"Well no worries, I'll get you checked up in no time!" Tulio cupped Jewel up in his hands.

"I'm going to see Linda today, Jewel. This being our last day in civilization and all." Blu called out as Tulio carried Jewel off.

"Ugh, let's give it one more day for this headache to pass." Jewel moaned in agony as she left the more.

Blu just shrugged and turned to exit the building.

...

* * *

...

Night engulfed Texas, little Cliff and his friend Ben started heading back home, which incidentally was in the same general direction.

"Ya ever drink beer b'fore? Ben?" Cliff said as he walked casually along the sidewalk.

"Nope, never. You?" Ben said rubbing his shaggy black hair.

"Sure, many times too." Cliff replied giving his friend a mischievous look. "Lets go 'n snag a few beers from my pops. We'll drink 'em outside by my barn, he'll never know."

"I dunno Cliff, it's awfully late don'tcha think?" Ben asked, unsure of the whole situation.

"Nonsense, never a better time! Besides, we ain't got no school tomorrows." Cliff said, "C'mon we'll have to sneak it out. If'n we're lucky, he might be too drunk to notice us."

The two boys approached the rickety old ranch house under the veil of night. The inside of the house was relatively quiet, and Cliff figured that both of his parents were asleep.

"Follow me, keep ya'self quiet Ben." Cliff put one finger over his mouth and motioned towards the inside of the house. Stealthily, the two boys opened the door and padded quietly into the kitchen, maneuvering past various objects. There was no sign of either parent, the whole house was dead quiet as if life stood still in that one space aside from the two boys.

Opening the fridge slowly, Cliff reached in and grabbed a case of beer and a bottle of vodka, passing the bottle to his friend before closing the door.

"Alright, now let's get on outta he-" Cliff stopped dead as he saw perhaps the most horrific sight of all of his life.

Cliff's dad sat in the door way with a shotgun, pointed straight at the two boys. "What'sa couple of no good thievesh doin' on MY property?" His dad bellowed, the two boys could smell alcohol on him from ten feet away.

"Dad, I-" Before Cliff could finish his answer a shot rang out. It was deafening and it reverberated several times in his ears, causing them to ring in pain. Glass shattered under Ben as the bottle hit the floor, followed by a limp thud. Cliff stood looking down at his friend without any expression, the shock had kept any reaction from appearing on Cliff's face.

"Cliff yew get yer ass over here yew fuckin' useless piece of shit." Cliff's dad roared as he walked up and rammed Cliff's face with the butt of the gun. "I don't want yew EVER to come home this late agin, Am I Clear?"

Cliff just kept his gaze on his friend who lay lifeless on the floor, bleeding profusely. He turned to face his dad slowly, "You're a bastard." Cliff said in a flat tone before his father gave him another smack sending him to the ground.

"Yew watch yer mouth kid." Cliff's dad said as he wobbled a bit from his drunken rage. He had yet to process the severity of what was occuring. He actually completely forgot he just shot someone and in his rage he was just plain pissed at his son.

Turning around to leave the room, Cliff's dad yanked the pack of beers from his son, opening one up and drinking it in one go.

Cliff sat there, tears filling his eyes as life gave him another cruel put down. This only hardened his resolve, his hatred for his own family grew, but more than anything else, Cliff hated himself. He put the blame of the death of his best friend on himself.

Breaking down into tears, Cliff stormed off quietly up into his room. Cliff went through all of his belongings and packed a bag full of keepsakes and clothes. Returning to the living room, he reached on top of the bookshelf where his mom stashed her money and retrieved a couple hundred of dollars.

Cliff then made one of the biggest decisions of his life. He ran away.

...

* * *

...

Blu stretched his wings wide, taking in the fresh air that seemed to flow through his whole being. Making a joyful loop around, he landed on a window seal and pecked a few times, waiting for Linda to answer. After a few short moments, Linda came and let Blu inside her house.

"Hey Blu! How are you doing? Where's Jewel?" Linda asked as she and Blu performed their handshake. Blu just shrugged and flew to the notepad that sat on the table, writing down Jewel's situation.

"Oh I see, I hope she's ok." Linda said as she sat down. Blu gave her and uneasy smile as his stomach growled. "Oh, so you haven't ate yet. Don't worry I'll have you your favorite cookies in no time!" Linda walked off to start making Blu's breakfast.

Thinking deeply, Blu wrote down everything that he planned over the next two days, including how him and Jewel would leave the aviary to the jungle. As he finished writing, he sat for a bit looking over his work.

Something still baffled him though, he and Jewel still had no home within the jungle. Surely it wouldn't be a good idea to blindly enter the jungle and expect to be able to survive the night without a place to stay, and the harpy eagle event from last time prevented him from wanting to go house hunting again by himself.

If only he could think of a place within the jungle to stay. It couldn't be anywhere near Rafael's place, his children would drive them insane. It couldn't be anywhere too deep because then civilization would be too far off, hindering his ability to give periodic visits to the club and Linda.

That's when Blu's brain smacked him with the most obvious answer ever. Remembering back to his dream, Blu saw himself with his family-to-be in a hollow by the waterfall! Realizing that, it was the ideal spot. Blu smiled brightly, writing his findings down on paper for Linda to inspect after she was finished baking cookies.

...

* * *

...

Cliff's life didn't improve upon leaving his horrific life with his parents. If anything it was harder. Reality hit him hard when he realized that simple things such as going to the bathroom became obscenely more difficult. Finding food and budgeting his money was a difficulty he had trouble with too.

Eventually he had ran out of money and reverted to stealing, migrating west as he moved from town to town to avoid being caught. He never took more then he needed, however, and for a while this life style suited him for a couple of years. He knew he could never do it forever, but eventually he was able to sustain himself on the profits of others, leeching off who he could.

A empty hole still filled his heart where his best friend was, it was his fault that he died, after all. Cliff took full blame and before long he became severely depressed with his loneliness. The life style that he had taken on was one of such solitude. Meeting people was never an activity he allowed himself to do, cutting all ties and jumping town before his thieving ways caught up to him.

However there was still Ben. The Ben that remained in Cliff's mind. His only friend that ever showed enough care to talk to him and hear his problems. The only friend that he no longer had. Cliff remembered Ben's words, his wishes for the future.

'I figure that I'd wanna visit 'er jest once... It's called... Rio'

Whatever wonderland his best friend saw in that place, Cliff wanted too. If for nothing else other then for his dear long lost friend, Cliff devoted himself to one day arriving on the shores of Rio, tasting the salt in the air and walking through the dense jungle.

Such a process of arriving to the place, however, proved more difficult than he had imagined. Cliff, the skilled thief, managed to steal enough money for a plane ticket. The only problem being that he had no passport, he was too young to get one by himself, and he was smart enough to know if he tried, he'd be caught and sent back to his parents again.

Luck, however, shined upon young Cliff. It took him two whole years but he managed to hitch hike his way down to Corpus Christi Texas where he paid a non-mainstream cruise captain all of his stolen cash to sail down to Rio.

Reality hit young Cliff again, as the second he arrived he had not a single cent to his name, no comprehension behind their language, and again, no friends or acquaintances. It wasn't long before he picked up his old ways again, once a thief always a thief after all. However Rio was a more unforgiving city then he could have imagined.

One fateful afternoon Cliff had stole from the wrong people. The 'wrong people' caught and mercilessly beat him up to the point where he was on the verge of death, leaving him stranded in an alley to die. Life had other plans for Cliff, however.

In his time of need, a young Brazilian woman found him and saved him. Showing him love and care like he never experienced before, she took him in and let him live with her. Teaching him all sorts of things about Brazil. Cliff was indeed very lucky as the woman also spoke English.

Her name was Selena.

She was a school teacher in Rio, still young and not much older then Cliff. Both were in their twenties and it wasn't long before they fell for each other. Cliff loved her dearly, changing his ways out of love for her. She gave Cliff a reason to live, she became his sanity in the broken world he resided in.

...

* * *

...

"So you're serious about this whole moving to the jungle business?" Linda asked, partially surprised, "Blu... What if you get killed? The jungle is a terrible and unsafe place! How do you plan on protecting your family if another harpy eagle attack happens? What about snakes and smugglers?" Linda kept listing reasons but Blu merely shook his head and started writing on the notepad.

'The human world is just as dangerous. Plus I have full faith in Jewel, and she has full faith in me. We will make things work out, I love her.'

As soon as Blu finished writing the last three words replayed in his head._ I love Jewel_... Blu thought, _I love her._..

He kept replaying those words in his mind, enjoying the sound of them as they brought up images of Jewel in his mind.

Linda just shook her head, "Blu.." She was lost for words as her eyes kept staring at the message Blu had written, "Okay.. Okay Blu. You better be the best dang future father ever, you hear?"

Blu straightened up and smiled at Linda nodding his head affirmatively, "That's my big, brave boy."

...

* * *

...

Despite being at an emotional high in his life, Cliff and his new found love had financial troubles. He would soon lose his only house that he shared with Selena, who was, as of recently, pregnant. Fed up with his problems, Cliff went out in search of help and what he found was more problems.

Financially, he had found a lone shark lender to help him get back on his feet, and he accepted it foolishly, not fully understand the consequences behind it. This brought on another slew of problems. Payments were due at the end of each month, and when Cliff failed to provide money for the lone shark money lenders, drastic consequences ensued.

He and Selena were the victims of harassment by this group and eventually Cliff had no money to repay the money lenders, and so, the darkest day in Cliff's life occurred.

The day started like any other...

* * *

"Morning Cliff." Selena said, waking up next to her love.

"Morning babe," Cliff replied eyeing her bulging pregnant belly, "How are you this fine morning?" Cliff lost his old Texan accent for the most part, adopting a new dialect due to his exposure to a new culture. Cliff rested one hand on Selena's stomach, feeling the warmth that it gave out.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I'm blessed to say that I don't have morning sickness right now!" Selena replied, holding Cliff close. "Let me get started on breakfast. Anything you want in particular?"

Cliff shook his head and sat up, helping his lover out of bed and accompanying her to the kitchen.

"Oh by the way Cliff... I've been getting nasty calls from those men again. Do you have money for this month? They didn't seem to happy last time..." Selena said as she started preparing breakfast.

"I'll handle it, you let me do that for you, ok?" Cliff sat down in the living room lounging about, "I got us into this mess, I'll get us out. Ok?"

"I guess," Selena said, half exasperated.

A few short knocks informed the couple of the presence of a visitor. "Don't worry, I'll get it." Cliff said jumping up and walking casually to the door. The visitors that came by, however, weren't your average friendly Brazilians. When Cliff opened the door, he was greeted by three large men with baseball bats.

"Hey Cliff," the lead man blurted out, "Got our money? We need it now buddy."

Cliff froze, standing still as he gaped at the three imposing men. "Um, yea.. No. I don't have it right now, but give me to the end of the day. I'll have your rotten money."

The lead man lowered his shoulders and approached Cliff, "Hey buddy, don't worry I understand. However, you do realize last time we went through this, we said that you were on your last chance, correct?"

"Um, yea... So what's going to happen?" Cliff asked as he mentally prepared himself for anything to happen.

"Yea... We're are taking some of your shit, Cliff." One man in the back yelled as he stormed inside of the small building. The other two men followed his lead and all three proceeded to bash the furniture around, smashing all of Cliff's possessions while he stood there helpless.

The loud crashes attracted the attention of Selena, who came running out of the kitchen, "What are you doing? Stop it now!" Selena charged forward trying to grab at the bats of the men.

Irritated by her intrusion, the three men started swinging at Selena, smacking her a couple times in the head which sent her to the floor. This outraged Cliff, he let out on scream before charging at one man ripping the bat from him and using it to smack him in the face.

The other two men quickly responded with swings of their own, nailing Cliff several times which disabled him from fighting back.

"That was a stupid mistake, Cliff." Said the man who was dealt the blow to the face, spitting blood on the floor. "We're gonna have to charge you something for this." His eyes quickly searched the room for anything of value before his eyes stopped upon Selena.

"Her," the man pointed, "We'll take her."

"No..." Cliff said as one of the larger men restrained him back. "Please don't she is... Pregnant."

"Well how perfect," The lead man said with a wild smug. "I wonder what would happen if I do this?" He reared the bat back behind him before releasing it and swinging full force to impact with Selena's bulging stomach.

Selena just let out a blood curdling screech as she dropped to her knees, holding her stomach. Cliff watch on in terror as the man looked back at him. Such a insane and crazed looked burned within him. In the eyes of the man, he saw evil, as if the devil himself was staring right at Cliff's soul. With one last blow, The man raised his bat over his head and brought it down with a deafening crack over the back of Selena's head, effectively cracking her skull and killing her.

Cliff sat emotionless again, similar to how he did when Ben died. Yet another person Cliff had cared for leaving him forever. Tears started flowing down his eyes as he looked up at the three men. "You're demons, all of you."

The lead man just let out one last smirk before swinging at Cliff's head, knocking him out cold. Cliff woke up hours later, covered in blood and bruisers. He still remained in his house that was now in shambles. Cliff forced himself to a kneeling position, crawling his way over to the body of his wife-to-be.

She was dead, more dead than anything else. Lost in the dark abyss forever with no way of ever retrieving her soul. With her was his unborn baby girl, who would never see the light of day. Who would never open her eyes or breath the world's air. Cliff would never be able to hold her, or watch her grow.

With the little love he had left in his heart, Cliff placed a blanket over Selena's broken head and cried. He cried every single bit of innocence out of him, cursing how cruel the real world was. He lost all hope for any sort of redeemable happiness in this world. It was as if the evil he saw in the man's eyes had burned its way into Cliff's soul.

It was this final straw in his tragic life that sent him over the edge. He had once thought that everything thing would be fine, as long as Selena was there with him. Losing her sent him into a spiral of madness, causing him to be ruthless and wreakless. The death of his lover and unborn baby, such a loss was too great for Cliff to ever recover from. The emotional distress was far greater than any physical pain he could ever experience.

He soon started to curse Ben's dream land, cursing at the heartache it had caused him. Cursing himself and his own pathetic life and how he only brought problems to the people he cared for. He wanted to run away again, but he needed some sort of way to do it and make money for yet another new life. And what better way to leave a country and make money then smuggling?

That's when Cliff meet Roberto, being low on money he needed any sort of income he could get. As much as he hated Roberto, he reverted to steal and smuggling birds as well as other various illegal exports. Cliff never planned on staying, but over the course of one year Roberto and Cliff managed to rack up enough money to run their own private smuggling operation. It was during this time that the two last macaws entered his life. Just the sheer prospect of the two birds forced Cliff and Roberto to plan out a trap from the moment they heard about it, tracking each and every move the two birds made.

Blu was peculiar to Cliff from the moment he actually laid eyes on the blue macaw. He could tell there was a sort of higher intelligence at play, and Blu had caused many problems for him. Blu's aura of happiness initially put him on bad terms with CLiff, but the thing that Cliff despised the most, the single most thing that made Cliff so jealous, was Jewel. It didn't take a genius to see how attracted and in love Blu and Jewel were, and this is something that made Cliff angry.

How could life be so cruel to him, and yet, so unforgiving to a couple of birds who had life so easy? Jealousy burned deep within Cliff as their relationship was something he envied. Strange how that is though, a grown human man being jealous of two birds and their love. Their carefree and easy going lives only added to the fuel of hatred Cliff had towards the birds.

...

* * *

...

Blu surveyed the waterfall that he and Jewel witnessed the day before. It was mid afternoon by now and before long Jewel would be wanting to know of his location. The waterfall pounded the small outlet of water below, creating the same dull roar he heard from before. The trees around the small outcrop of rock were fewer in number the closer to the waterfall you went, progressively getting more dense as you delve deeper into the actual jungle.

For the most part, fruit trees decorated the close proximity of the waterfall, which was fine for Blu, as he didn't want a hollow too close to the waterfall. That'd attract too much attention, no, he wanted more privacy.

Drawing a mental picture of the whole location, Blu flew high above in the canopy looking for possible prospects, trying to pick out a good distanced home while still having sight of the beautiful waterfall.

After many tries, he kept stumbling upon occupied nests. He never stayed too long to see who occupied the nest inside the hollow, he only ever swooped low enough to peer inside. His wings started to grow heavy and eventually he wondered if he would ever find a good hollow for Jewel.

Mustering himself up one last time, Blu swooped to a hollow that directly faced the waterfall. Much to Blu's surprise, it was empty. Completely empty. Blu looked around and gauged the space of the hollow, deeming it fit for him, Jewel, and a few extra chicks.

_Perfect_! Blu thought as he turned to face the exit. The sight that Blu witnessed made the whole house for him. Standing in the middle of the hollow he looked out and had a perfect view of the waterfall. Not a single tree directly obscured the line of sight he had and he was at a perfect distance to still remain undetected from the waterfall's many visitors. The mist and sun met perfectly at the angle Blu viewed the waterfall, forming a nice arc of colors. A rainbow shone down from the top of the waterfall, making the view that much more magical.

"This is the place." Blu said to himself, "This is the home of my dreams."

Blu took a quick circle around the tree and took in it's location, placing a small rock in the center of it to mark it._ I'll be back,_ Blu thought, _and Jewel will be so happy with my finding._

* * *

**So Cliff, as a result of the many horrors of his life, became a cold hearted person. Hating the love and happiness others shared without him. A loner due to the love that he lost...**

**This 5k word chapter was written in one day. A new record for me so far :O**

**How am I doing? Leave a review! This chapter is my longest one yet, and it took a lot of work. But I do it for you guys ;)**


	19. Lover's Requiem

**A major thank you to Mic O'Mally for revising this final chapter. Thanks man!**

**It's been fun guys, but for the last time, I present to you, Lover's Respite:**

* * *

Blu arrived back at the aviary in time to catch the last glimpse of sun with Jewel. As he entered the main building, Tulio waved as Blu flew by. "Blu, come check out Nico! He's doing so much better. He's actually able to walk now, albeit slowly, but he can finally move on his own."

Blu made a quick cut in his flight path and headed down to land on the table by Nico, eyeing the small canary who adjusted his bottle cap with his right wing. Nico's left wing was in a cast, and he wore a massive brace on his left talon, supporting it enough to allow him to apply pressure to it. He still had patches of missing feathers on his back from where the doctors performed surgery, as well as bandages and stitches to help heal the incisions.

Nico wore a huge warm smile, proud of his own recovery, "Hey Blu, how ya been bird?" Nico's words sounded pained, but Blu could tell that overall, Nico was improving.

"I'm doing great Nico, you're looking good yourself I see." Blu said beaming brightly at the canary.

"Heh, I've been better... But I can finally move around on my own now." Nico limped closed to the water Tulio had placed next to him in a small bird dispenser, painfully extending himself up to take a few quick sips.

"Where's Pedro? I haven't seen him in a short while either." Blu said glancing around the room searching for any sign of the overly obeese bird. When his search came up empty, he returned his gaze to Nico, who lapped up a few quick sips of water.

"He's down at the club, filling in for me." Nico finally said after he finished drinking.

"Ah, so the club really is fully up and running again?" Blu asked

"Yup, and better then ever I hear. Sure there isn't as many birds coming there every night as there was before, but that'll change soon enough."

Tulio returned to the table after helping another macaw with a broken wing, picking Nico up as he looked at Blu. "It's time for this little guy to get his rest, you should go tend to Jewel. She's had quite a rough day. She might even have some news for you." Tulio winked at Blu as he carried the fraile Nico off.

_News?_ Blu wondered, _what could that mean?_

Blu quickly padded off the counter, flying in the direction of his miniature habitat. Upon arriving, Jewel was washing herself in the artificial river that ran through the middle of their enclosure. Blu sneakily approached her from behind, swooping down and splashing right in front of her at the last second. "Ahh, Blu!" Jewel exclaimed as she shot Blu an annoyed look, "Don't scare me like that please!"

"Feeling better?" Blu said with a look half teasing, and half lovingly seductive. Blu quickly dunked his head under the water, shaking his head dry after resubmerging.

"Well I was, until you nearly gave me a heart attack." Jewel said giving Blu an accusing stare. "Anyways, I'm just washing up, it's been a while since I last cleaned up."

"What are you talking about? You cleaned up before we left for dinner last night." Blu countered as he went to picking dirt out of Jewel's hard-to-reach back.

"Well what if I just like to be clean?" Jewel said stretching out so Blu could easily reach the entirety of her back. "Besides, I have to look good for you."

"Aww, Jewel, you know no matter you'll always look like an angel to me." Blu said as he picked a small grimy feather out. Jewel just blushed, but due to the direction she was facing, Blu didn't notice.

Once Blu had finished with his job, he turned to walk out of the water, reaching shore before Jewel grabbed his tail feathers and yanked him back in. "Where do you think you're going little bird?" Jewel said playfully.

Jewel tackled Blu and held him down, placing herself on top of him constricting his movement, only allowing his head to surface above the water. Jewel laughed as Blu struggled with a slight hint of panic due to the water being dangerously close to his beak.

"What's wrong Blu?" Jewel giggled as she focused in on Blu's eyes. Once Blu met her gaze he froze, relaxing every muscle in his body.

"You're too beautiful to resist." Blu said dreamily.

"Oh Blu, you're too kin-Ahh" Jewel yelped as Blu pulled her talons out from under her, sending her splashing into the water. Blu quickly made a dash for the water's edge but Jewel reacted to quickly, catching him again.

"Oh no you don't Blu! You're getting your bath whether you like it or not!" Jewel tugged him back into the water, but before she could restrain him, Blu turned to give her a deep kiss. Passion sparked through the air as their beaks met, silencing any conflicts between either of them.

Jewel lost herself, closing her eyes she let her tounge taste Blu. Love filled her whole being as her heart fluttered... Only to be rudely cut off by Blu kicking off and dashing into the air.

"You'll never make me take a bath!" Blu said as he took to the sky, adding another dimension to their playful struggle.

Jewel just frowned and stopped, "Blu... Please don't run. If you love me, you'll come take a bath, you dirty bird."

Blu just stayed suspended in mid-air, "Ugh, don't pull this card..." Jewel's eyes started filling with tears, as she used her convincing deep blue eyes to appeal to Blu's heart. "Ugh," Blu muttered.

"Of course I love you Jewel, I was only playing." Blu landed on the shore of the river, hesitating before slowly entering the water.

Jewel just smiled and giggled, "You're such a silly bird Blu, too easy to convince." Jewel began to pick through Blu's feathers, washing him down from head to tail as he sat patiently. "You're quite the dirty bird today, what'd you go do?" Jewel asked as she continued.

"Oh man, I totally forgot about what I found today! You'll never believe it but, I found us a hollow!" Blu explained as Jewel continued cleaning him down.

"Remember the waterfall we visited a few days back? I went back there and found the best possible hollow ever. It sits directly in front of the waterfall, overlooking the pool with a perfect, unobstructed view. It's at the perfect distance too! Not too close to draw attention from other creatures, and not too far to be of any hinderance."

Blu finished the same time Jewel did, both meeting with wide smiles as the embraced each other. "Sounds amazing, are you sure it wasn't taken?" Jewel said staring brightly into Blu's massive brown eyes.

"I'm sure, and I even marked it with a small rock. Tomorrow I'll take you there and show it to you, and we can even live there from now on!" Blu climbed out of the water holding one wing out to help Jewel out of the water as well. She followed and the two flew up to the hollow.

"Hm, you know that the sun is setting right now, right?" Blu asked as he turned Jewel, once inside the hollow.

"Oh really?" Jewel asked excitedly, "Let's go catch it!" Jewel quickly turned and leaped out of the hollow, Blu shrugged at her sudden change of pace and followed her outside.

* * *

When Blu found his way on to the roof he was greeted by an amazing sight. Jewel was positioned between Blu and the sun set, facing away from Blu and admiring the vivid hues of red and orange that the last bit of sun gave off. The orange rays enveloped Jewel, leaving her shining with such a vibrant hue of blue and red-orange it left Blu stunned. Her blue coat, amplified by the rays of light contrasted with the green foliage below. In addition to this, her relative dampness from the recent bath left her with a even deeper shade of Blue than normal. Such a sight of vivid color was rare to come by, and Blu took it in as if it was the last time he would ever see it.

Noticing the absence of her mate, Jewel turned around to find Blu staring at her with a dumb look of infatuation on his face. "Well, are you going to join me?" Jewel said patting a spot on the concreted wall beside her.

Jewel gave Blu a beaming gaze, widening her eyes at his immediate hesitation. Her sapphire irises that were entombed by the whites of her eyes emited a faint glow by the contrasting red-orange and green behind her.

Blu quickly shook the sense back into himself, "Yeah sorry, I was just lost within your beauty again." Blu smiled dumbly and quickly hopped over to Jewel.

"Oh come now Blu, you give me too much credit." Jewel said as she plucked a kiss from Blu's cheeks. Blu took her initiation too far and dove in for another kiss, this time on the beak. The held each other's beak with their own, accepting the loving embrace before breaking off and turning back to the dying day's sun.

Blu placed his wing around Jewel, and upon this gesture, Jewel copied obligingly. "I can't wait to begin our lives in the jungle; it's going to be an amazing change." Jewel said, keeping her eyes focused in on the array of red that was shrinking in the horizon little by little.

"Think of all the things that we're going to go through, both good and bad. Either way it's going to be interesting, starting a new life with you. I can't wait either." Blu pulled Jewel in and hugged her as she leaned into his chest, both still staring out towards the sun as they sat on the edge of the roof, letting their talons drift off the side.

"Sunsets are so much better in the jungle, just think; we'll have many more of these to experience. I can't wait to show you how good a sunset can be." Jewel yawned a bit, due to the fatigue she had acquired through out the day.

"There's nothing more I'd ever want to do, Jewel. You're my everything."

"You're my everything too, Blu."

The last two Spix macaws sat there, in a loving embrace as the last bit of sun submerged past the horizon line, shrouding the landscape with the cover of night. Blu hopped up onto his two black little talons and stretched, half yawning, before he pulled Jewel up onto her talons.

"Shall we go in?" Blu asked with a slight bow.

"Lead the way, handsome."

...

* * *

...

Cliff stood on the edge of town, waiting for the sun to finally go down. He had tossed the pack that carried all of his belongings down onto the floor, unzipping the first pouch and pulling out a 9mm hand gun.

_This is the place_, Cliff thought as he inspected the building. _This is the place of that damned loan shark, the fucker that took Selena away from me._

Before, Cliff would never dream of approaching this building for fear of his life, but the past few failures of his life, including the failed smuggle attempt, sent him into the depths of insanity. Cliff was tying up all the loose ends in his life, everything that had ever caused him pain in this city he considered a shit hole.

Taking a deep sigh Cliff loaded the gun and cocked it back, priming a bullet inside the chamber. He zipped up, and slung the small pack over his back. Crouching down to keep a low profile, he slowly approached a window and peered inside, taking in the surroundings.

He was familiar with a few parts of the building, being as this was the place he went to get money. Inside he saw three men, two of which were sitting at a table playing cards and the other on a couch counting money.

Money... Such a stupid tangible object that controlled the lives of humans everywhere. Such a small materialistic thing that served as the motives in many of the horrible deeds people committed. The sole reason Selena had left him...

Neither of the three men were the lone shark, however two of the men were involved in Selena's death, the third of which was a mere stranger to Cliff. If he's stupid enough to associate with these crooks, he's as good as dead like the rest of 'em, Cliff deemed as he proceeded to make a circular sweep around the building, checking each window before finally coming up to a bed room.

The bed room itself was pretty empty and modest. A small lamp, a nightstand and a bed were the only contents within the room, aside from the lone shark that stole Cliff's lover. He was fast asleep on the bed, snoring louder than anything.

Deeming this was the best point of attack, Cliff hefted himself up the window, intruding into the broken down building. Stashing the gun in the back of his pants, Cliff withdrew a knife and some rope, tying the man's hands and legs to the bed frame. The process slowly roused the man and when Cliff had finished, the lone shark was wide awake, staring death itself in it's pissed off enraged eyes.

"Hey! What are yo-" Cliff stuffed part of the sheet inside the man's mouth gagging him so he couldn't make any noise, but his initial out burst was enough to alert the other three members of the house. Cliff heard footsteps and mutters from outside the door as the knob started slowly turning.

Cliff quickly withdrew his firearm and open fired once the door had opened. Two of the men dropped instantly with the third diving out of the way, and stumbling to the ground injured from a stray bullet. Cliff mercilessly traced the man's location and pointed the gun at his head.

"Para o meu amor, idiota," Cliff unleashed the final blow that sent the man into the dark, black abyss of death. Never to be heard from again.** (For my love, asshole)**

Cliff returned to the pinned down lone shark who sat tembling, using the last bullet of his clip, Cliff shot the man in his left thigh as he quickly walked up to the bed, drawing his knife out again. The man gave off a muffled scream, shaking at his bindings before Cliff unleashed hell, making his death slow and painful. Cliff finished mercilessly, the blood lust that materialized through his insanity not quite sated, he set out to his next target, with hatred in his heart.

...

* * *

...

"Have I ever told you the full story behind the time I got captured?" Blu asked as he sat laying on his back, Jewel next to him cuddling close in the safety of their hollow.

"Not really, other then you, Nico, and Pedro go ambushed. They said they convinced you to leave the aviary to go to some party?" When Jewel finished she nuzzled her face in Blu's shoulder-neck region, taking in his scent.

"I was absolutely drunk, complete out of my mind." Blu said with a small smile forming on his beak, "Pedro told me what had happened. Apparently, I was sooooo drunk, soooo caught up in the moment that when all hell broke loose, and every bird wound up in a cage including myself, I was still dancing on the spot with my eyes closed." Blu couldn't hold back a huge grin as he chuckled at the mental image that he painted.

"But then, when I passed out, and eventually came to, reality struck. I was lost with out you, on the brink of insanity. I couldn't help but nip at my own feathers out of pure frustration at my predicament. I thought for sure I was never going to see you again, and I cried. I cried so hard, unlike any other time I had ever cried. The emotional pain tore knots into my stomach, I couldn't stand the idea of being without you.

"Then, I hatched my first attempt at escape..." Blu said half wincing as the bitter memory flooded his brian. Jewel was so captivated by his story, she stared straight into his eyes, she could sense his pain, and she held him closer. "I tried escaping, getting extremely close to freedom again, but by a bad string of luck, I managed to smash my cage open, but the open side faced downwards. I still remained trapped, and that's when Cliff found me... He nearly killed me, he broke my morale more then anything, as he had spared my physical being... But he threatend me, and that restrained me enough to stop any future attempts. I've really never seen any human more sinister then him."

Blu worked himself up into tears, although he had not mentioned it, Jewel was thinking about her cruel sin against Blu during the midst of his painful experience. She thought of how much worse she made the whole ordeal. He had undergone immense emotional terror for a being he loved, only to find out that that bird had turned their back on him. Before Jewel noticed, she developed tears of her own, sniffling as she buried her head into Blu's chest and cried.

"I'm... I'm so sorry... Blu" Jewel wept, "I... I can never forgive myself for putting you through what you experienced... Blu, why are you so forgiving of me?" Jewel looked up and met Blu's pained half teary eyed gaze. "Why?" Jewel asked as she pounded his chest again with tears. "Why do you forgive me so easily? I can't begin to imagine what you went through... I'm... So sorry."

Blu was at a loss, he hadn't intended on making this turn down emotional lane, but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure himself why he had forgiven Jewel. The only thing he was sure of was that he had forgiven her, and that he loved her.

"Jewel... Please stop crying." Blu said wiping tears out of his eyes, "Please, I can't stand to see you like this."

"Why'd you do it? Why'd you take me back?"

"Because you were all that I had. You are all that I have. I love you, and nothing in this world can possibly change that." Blu stopped himself, his message was clear and he had said it many times before. He let those short few sentences settle in as he studied Jewel's questioning facial expression, pulling her into a hug when her expression changed to one filled with the realization behind Blu's meaningful words.

Blu held Jewel, he held her as tight as he possibly could, "I never want to let you go,"

"Then don't."

The two macaws sat in their embrace; again their relationship was so profound that a simple gesture of love, such as a simple hug, spoke volumes. So much emotion went in the hug, as if all they would ever need is each other's touch. One wasn't complete without the other, like two pieces to make up a whole that was one perfect, complete and thriving being.

This entity of love that the two made up forever bonded them together, and as long as one half was not present, the other was equally pained.

Breaking their embrace, Jewel stared into Blu's loving eyes. They both still had misty eyes, but for the most part they were happy, satisfied by the other's company. "I'm getting pretty sleepy Blu, I'm going to grab a quick snack. Tulio said that I needed to put something in my stomach or I'd wake up sick again."

"That's strange, I've never heard of something like that." Blu said as he stretched back, "I'll wait for you here, then."

Jewel departed quickly, leaving her lover in search of a small snack to prevent morning sickness. It was now obvious what was happening to her, and she started noticing the signs the second Tulio had confirmed it.

Opening the small hatch of their enclosure, Jewel quickly rose in the air. Navigating through the open door ways Tulio promised to leave unlocked for her midnight snack. Once Jewel had reached the refrigerator in the staff's lounge, she used her talons to pry open then door. The effort it took to budge the door was considerable for her, and left her a little shaky, but the second the door swung open, she eyed her prize.

_Sweet mango!_ Jewel thought as she dove into the fridge and started nibbling away.

...

* * *

...

Entering the aviary was no difficult task, unlike how Cliff expected it to be. For some odd reason, the door was left unlocked allowing Cliff to literally walk up and enter without breaking any glass or triggering any alarms. Due to Tulio's oversight after the first break in, he fired the guard previously on duty, leaving the building virtually unprotected.

Walking through the first room he came to, Cliff bore his handgun in his right hand, and a flashlight in his left. Cliff passed many cages filled with various birds before one caught his eye. He stopped and shone his light straight on an injured canary, waking up the bird with the intruding light.

Cliff immediately recognized the bird before him, it was Nico. "Hehe, well looky here. If it isn't the dead bird from before. I must say you're quite the fighter to be here in the flesh. That's a respectable quality, and for it you've earned your life."

Nico shivered in Cliff's presence, it was like a demon from his past that had caused him so much pain came to revisit him.

"Sadly for you, I can't let you walk out unscaffed, you sir are terribly unlucky." Cliff reached into the cage and grabbed the poor canary with a crushing grip, laughing manically as he purposely let the canary free fall to the floor from 6 feet in the air. Nico hit the ground with a thud, snapping partially healed bones and sending him in another agonizing train of pain.

Moving on to let the poor canary suffer, Cliff proceeded on into a hallway, checking each room for any sign of his enemies.

Enemies... The two birds that prevented him from escaping this city that he cursed so much. The two birds that denied him fortune and solace from the emotional pain that would haunt him for the rest of his life. As empty as his motives were, Cliff was dead set on revenge.

Cliff trekked through another set of rooms; search each one with negligible results before he saw a faint light shine from a room ahead. Slowing his pace, Cliff walked silently up to the door way before quickly turning the corner, spotting his target eating a small fruit in a refrigerator.

...

* * *

...

Blu sat patiently for the return of his mate for approximately ten minutes. Sleep edging closer and closer as his consciousness slipped partially before he would shake his head every so often, keeping him within the concious world.

_What's taking her so long?_ Blu thought, oblivious to Jewel's approaching doom. _Eh, I'm kinda hungry too, guess I'll go grab a snack with her._

Blu slowly roused himself up and walked out to the rim of the hollow, stretching out his wings before soaring down to the hatch, opening up and proceeding down the myriad of hallways. Blu's leisure trip took a bit longer then Jewel's due to his nonchalant demeanor.

His trip took a horrifying twist, however, the second he turned the corner into the lounge room. Much to his horrified surprise, the scene he had just walked in scared him beyond any recollectable thought.

Jewel was in the hands of Cliff, Blu's own personal boogieman. Cliff had sensed Blu's presence as he turned to meet his horrified expression, "Bem-vindo à realidade" Cliff said as he raised his arms in a welcoming shrug. **(Welcome to Reality)**

"Allow me to welcome you; this is how the real world works. I've said this before, the strong more advanced win and take what they want." Images of men with bats flashed in Cliff's mind as they beat down on his poor Selena...

"This time, oh no no no, This time... I'm the strong and more advanced, of higher intelligence too." Cliff had a sinister smile on his face; he clearly lacked sanity if such a thing existed in Cliff's world.

Blu couldn't do anything but watch his mate struggle; he was glued to the spot, frozen in time waiting for something to happen. He wanted to attack, to defend his mate, but for the second time that he and Jewel had been together, he found himself unable to do anything. He couldn't attack Cliff, and he couldn't plead with him either. The only thing Blu could do was watch.

"And since I'm far more superior," Cliff said condescendingly to Blu, "I'm taking what I want... Revenge."

Cliff slammed Jewel on the ground with such a force it temporarily paralyzed her from the sheer shock of having her breath knocked out. Holding his gun down in her direction, Cliff stared at Blu's terrified expression, taking in his victory.

Jewel's gaze met Blu's, the look of pure unadulterated fear enveloped Jewel. Blu had only seen this look twice before, one with the harpy eagles... And the other in his dream.

Blu's dream right after he saved her from falling out of the plane the first time. That look of pure fear that had saw in his dream. Blu remembered how much he willed himself, how much he tried his heart out, how much he hoped to save Jewel, but instead fell short.

Blu remembered it all, his failure to save Jewel, as if Deja vu was playing a mean trick on him. It was like the events were scripted, and right before the end... The split second before Blu's world came crashing in on him, silence enveloped the room as two words were all that was audible.

"I'm pregnant."

A crashing shot rang out, silencing the small whimper of a voice, reverberating several times as the sound shook the very soul of the now lone macaw.

Jewel lay there motionless, the rising and falling of her chest had ceased never to continue again; Cut off by the bullet that penetrated through her, defiling her body and ending her life.

The cold hard fact of reality had yet to fully reach Blu, as he fell off of his talons. Collapsing in an emotional torrent of pain and turmoil. Tears filled Blu's eyes as his heart was metaphorically ripped out of his chest and shredded to pieces. He sat staring at the fragments of his life, he was now broken, without a whole, to never be free and to never love again.

"Jewel? Honey?" Blu called, as if the mere sound of her name would summon her back to the concious world. "Jewel wake up, please..." The lack of a response only reaffirmed the terrible fate that befell her, and with the death of Jewel, Blu had lost everything.

His life had been crushed, his very being and meaning for existence smashed. He no longer had a purpose, and he no longer cared about this life he was in. The only thing he ever wanted was Jewel, and now she was gone. Gone forever, and forever extinguished from this world, as if smothered out by one man's selfish desire for revenge.

"Jewel... No..." Blu said, nearly convulsing out of pure exploding emotional pain. His stomach turned knots pulling him down in a frenzy of sudden heart ache.

"She was... Pregnant? But... How?" Blu slapped himself for asking the stupid question. The signs were there, the snack before bed to prevent morning sickness, the terrible headaches, and her impulsive emotional outbursts that had been occuring the past two days. He even remembered back to the Harpy eagle encounter, that female stared at Jewel's belly as if something was inside. _Why hadn't I noticed before?_

_I've lost her, and my unborn baby... Is this a nightmare? This can't be real..._

Cliff only stared down at the poor macaw who was tearing himself up emotionally inside.

_Never will I ever hold her again. Never will I ever see the beautiful product of our bodies: The egg. Never will I witness my own child growing up. I'm now confined into a meaningless life, the last of my kind. Doomed to forever be alone._

These realizations sent Blu on the edge of insanity, pushing him into the darkness of his now insane mind. Tendrils of darkness enveloped and consumed his sanity, and left him a shell of his former self.

Inching closer to Jewel, Blu crawled up to her lifeless body, picking her up and crying over her.

_Why Jewel? You said you would NEVER leave me. You PROMISED! What happened to together forever? We were gonna leave tomorrow, and raise a family, and be happy, and life in the hollow that I had selected. We had a future, why did you leave me?_

A feeling of betrayal overwhelmed Blu before he casted it off... _No_... Blu thought, _it wasn't she who left me... She was taken away from me._

Blu slowly looked up, Jewel's dead body in his wings; he stared down the barrel of the gun that had effectively took everything Blu ever had away from him. Blu gave an accusing stare at Cliff, accepting what he had done and was doing, developing a new hatred in his heart.

Cliff in all of his blood thirsty revenge seeking, over looked the pain he caused, and it wasn't until Blu gave him one last look that he had realized what he had done.

Cliff saw the pain that he had caused, he had seen the look of pain in Blu's eyes before, only this time it mirrored back to him. The pain that he inflicted upon Blu was the very same pain that Cliff experienced before. The very same pain that had took Cliff's soul, his very fiber of existing, and destroyed it. He came up with the sudden realization that he was no better then the lone shark that had killed Selena for money. In fact, he was much worse. He tore apart two lovers for the selfish persuit of revenge, a mere aspect that profited him none.

Images of Selena came crashing back to him... _Selena_, Cliff called out in the echoes of his own mind, _what have I done..? You wouldn't have been happy about all this.. This killing. This hatred. What's become of me without you?_

Cliff dropped the gun, falling to his knees. He realized that the terrible scar he left Blu was a fate worse then death. His revenge was now complete, but at the end of his journey, he was more lost than when he started.

Cliff worked himself up, _Selena_... Cliff's breathing was now very shaky, and he started trembling with regret

The poor hurt bird that stood before him held his lover. Cliff couldn't stand the sight any more. It was the third time he had witnessed such a horrendous thing in his life time, the loss of someone who had cared, and this time he finally let out his emotions, crying deeply for the many losses and troubles of his life. Cliff cried for Blu, too. All of his life he was the source of problems, and now he regretted everything he'd done.

Cliff gathered himself finally and stood up, "If you truly hate me for this and want revenge, seek me out. I'll be waiting..." Cliff slowly stepped over the two macaws, breaking for the exit before looking back one last time at the damage he had done. He pulled his cowboy-esque hat down and popped the collar of his trench coat up before storming off, lost in the insanity of his own terrible, misdirected life.

* * *

(Blu)

Darkness surrounded me again. It was obvious that I entered the dream state again. I saw her...

Her beautiful plumage glowed in the darkness of my mind, my insanity. She only stared at me, with no emotion, no fear, no sadness.

"Seek me... Call me... I'll be waiting." She called as she disappeared leaving me alone again.

Another wave of emotional pain hit me again; loneliness coupled with heart ache immobilized me, leaving me gasping for breath half stunned.

No... She can't be gone. She can't be... Why... Why not me?

This distance that now separated me and my mate... This dissolution of my now shattered life. All I could do now as cling to memories while falling down into the dark abyss of my insane, scarred mind. This sleep that I'm in... It brings a release, and the hope of a new day. But the waking misery of being without you... Jewel... I can't go on.

Surrender, I give in... Another moment without you is another eternity of pain that I must suffer through.

Tears clouded my eyes again as I grabbed my stomach, pain twisting its jagged edges inside of me.

I can't go on... my voice mirrors my torment; in sorry I call for you hoping for you comfort. Searching for the solace that you once brought me.

What happened to the promises? The love? How can I be complete now without you? Will there be no end to my broken heart?

The ever lasting image of Jewel's captivating eyes imprited itself in my sleeping mind. The small Respite that our love faced and overcome when I was captured matured and developed into a deep and solemn ending. A Lover's Requiem.

Moving on? How could I move on, she was my future, she was my only true family. What if I can't forget _you_? I won't be able to live without you. The pain of your absence will forever scar me...

I should have never let you go...

* * *

I awoke, bolting up as Tulio and Linda stood over me. Their faces streaked with dry tears, obviously mourning over the loss of Jewel.

Jewel...

It all seemed so surreal, like it never happened. I still couldn't full grasp the thought of it, if it wasn't for their expressions of sorrow I would have not even believed she was gone. I would have gone searching endlessly for her, but their looks restrained me and sent me into another flurry of tears.

"Blu I-" Linda tried as she stared down, lost for words.

"We'll help you go through this hard time Blu, we are very sorry." Tulio added with remorse.

"We'll help you pick up the pieces that she left..." Linda said trying to help me out.

_What's so good about picking up the pieces_? I thought, _why do people put so much emphasis on rebuilding? The only thing I wanted was solace. An escape from the terrible reality that was my eternal loneliness._

"Yea Blu, besides, I've heard rumors of other female Spix macaws in the jungle. No promises, but there is a possibility!" Tulio added with a pleading smile.

This was the last straw for me; I couldn't stand the human race any more. Their corrupt desires and personal motives infuriated me. They didn't care about me, they only cared about the continuation of my race. I couldn't stand to look at Linda anymore, I felt more betrayed from her than when Jewel left me... Jewel.. With the loss of her, I truly lost everything... To humans.

This despicable race that runs the world... I can't stand this anymore.

I gave one last angry look at the two useless wastes of life that stood in front of me, trying to pacify my rage, before turning away, flying out of the window that was left open. Escaping into the jungle to live out the rest of my miserable existence.

* * *

**Alright guys, hope you enjoyed the full story! Sad ending I know... But I had planned it from the begining. Chapter one, Blu's nightmare in the first few lines predicted the ending. The darkness that Blu fell into could represent the dark depths of his insane mind, after he failed to protect and save Jewel. **

**Basically, you knew what you were getting into from the first message the story sent out. Sorry for the tears! (I hope I wrote good enough to bring tears to you, or atleast leave a lasting impression...)**

**Cutting all old information out :)**

**The sequel is out, proceed to my profile and click to "Eternal Darkness"... If you dare.**

* * *

**This is Roarrk, you captain on this fine adventure, signing out. Until next time guys.**


	20. Maybe In Another Life, Alternate Ending!

**Alright, so don't hate me for this chapter. I know this is how a lot of people wanted it to end, and truth is half way through chapter 16 I planned to release an alternate ending. I didn't have the inspiration or drive or direction to write out an alternate ending until recently.. (Late I know, haha!) The concept and theme of the chapter is something I've been actually thinking about for a while, and I decided it fit perfectly here (Also 20 chapters looks better than 19 :| ).**

**Hopefully this will make a few people happy who hated the original ending. This will be the last of this particular story forever. The original ending will be continued with "Eternal Darkness"**

**The theme in this chapter is Life vs Love. **

**Here's My Question To You:**

**Given the choice, One or the other, Which would you choose? Your Love, or you Life.**

* * *

Life and Love flow hand in hand, I've said this many times before, but the true extent of the phrase still evades me. I realize this, and that's why I sit up some nights constantly pondering the aspect.

If given the choice, which would you choose?

I've spent an unfathomable amount of time thinking it over, and the only way I can decipher, makes it even harder to decide. Love means nothing with your life, because once you're dead, how would you feel the love you sacrificed yourself for?

On the flip-side, what purpose would life serve without the very thing that defined you? Love...

You'd be a hollow shell of your former self, with no definition, no direction, no passion and no reason.

Yet when confronted with a choice between the two, which was more valuable? On top of this, everyone always considered life to be the most precious possession anyone had. But what if you gave your life to someone else?

...

The sudden realization only drove deep spikes on panic and dismay into my mental resolve when I saw Jewel in the hands of him..

This evil man that threatened us both. His sinister eyes developed an evil piercing gaze that only shook my sanity further. His motives, while unclear at first, were obviously life threatening to me and more importantly, Jewel...

"Blu!" Jewel shrieked as Cliff tightened his hold on her.

"Bem-vindo à realidade" Cliff stated smugly as he focused his eyes on me, taunting me with my mate in which he crushed with his grip. **(Welcome to Reality)**

"Allow me to welcome you; this is how the real world works. I've said this before, the strong more advanced win and take what they want." Cliff smiled brighter at me, flaunting his victory as he raised Jewel up higher, gesturing to her.

My mind raced a million miles an hour as Cliff kept muttering on, but his death speech went unregistered in my brain. The only thing my whole being was focused on was the pleading look Jewel gave me. I could see the message she was sending to me, 'Run Blu! Run away! Save yourself!' her eyes told me everything, but there was no where for me to run. It was up to me to face this menace, and no matter what the outcome, victory or death, I made my mind that I would fight for Jewel, the love of my life.

Cliff's finish statement was the last thing that I caught in my mind, "I'm taking what I want... Revenge."

A loud resound thud echoed through my ears as I saw Jewel being slammed into the ground. I winced at the expression of shock and pain her face displayed.

_I need to act fast!_ I thought as I shot forward diving to Jewel holding her head in my wings.

"Jewel!" I screamed, her expression was weak and delirious.

"B-Blu.. I-I'm.."

"Jewel don't talk, just stay awake with me please!" I screamed frantically again. My gaze shot up to Cliff again, who held a gun pointed straight down at me.

"How easy this would be, to end both of you," He started savagely, "I want you experience more pain than this, you stupid bird."

In a quick blur of motion, Cliff delivered a huge kick to my chest, sending me flying across the room, effectively knocking the wind out of me.

"Observe," Cliff smiled as he primed his handgun.

Through sheer force of will, I picked myself up and pulled myself to my talons. My wings drug to my sides as I limped back over to Jewel. Cliff watching my pathetic progress as I dragged on.

"Blu.." Jewel mumbled weakly

"I'll never leave you Jewel. Please don't leave me... You promised.."

Upon reaching Jewel again, I collapsed halfway next to her, "I won't ever let you go,"

"Persistent, but you are fighting the inevitable blue bird," Cliff shrugged, "Guess it's going to take a bit more."

Cliff raised his boot and shoved his heel in my face, knocking down to the ground. In one sweep he pushed my weak, hurting body back against the wall.

After heaving a couple of sinister laughs at my pain, he re-steadied his aim on Jewel, "Any last wor-"

I cut off his statement as I trudged back over to Jewel and positioned myself in his line of sight,

"Would you really take a bullet for her first? Why are you even fighting this inevitable fate?" He spat as he lowered his gun. I saw his face contort into many shapes of pain. The reasons why were beyond me.

"Selena..." Was the only thing I heard him say before he broke into a sobbing fit.

I felt two wings tug at me, pulling me down towards Jewel.

"Blu, I-" She coughed, the breath just now starting to come back to her, "I'm..."

"What Jewel? It's ok, rest easy, I'm here."

"I'm pregnant."

Her words sliced into me and my mind raced a million miles again. Thousands of questions popped into my head, 'How, What, Why, When?' being the core of many of them.

"Wh-what?" I uttered in complete shock, but Jewel was unconscious. "Jewel? Jewel?" I shook her slightly, but stopped before I disturbed her too much.

Turning my attention back around, I saw Cliff on his knees, mumbling about Selena.

"I've had what I loved taken away from me," He came to finally, "You courage showed me what I used to treasure, I was unable to protect my love."

He broke into a few more spurts of uncontrollable sobs, "Bu-but..." he continued, "I don't have it in my heart to inflict the same damage that was dealt to me. Treasure her, Blu, never let her go and never stop fighting."

Abruptly he rose to his feet. There was an eternity of silence that followed as his eyes met mine and he stood there for what seemed an eternity.

"My hats off you to, you lucky bird..."

_Lucky..._

That was the last thing Cliff said before he left, escaping out of the aviary that he infiltrated for the sheer sake of revenge. His original mission failed, Cliff took on a new challenge, finding meaning to his destroyed life.

The second he stepped foot out the door, I collapsed to the floor next to Jewel. My body had had enough abuse, and I slipped into a deep state of unconscious sleep.

...

"Blu, wake up!" I heard a familiar voice call. My eyes sluggishly propped open as I painfully tried to raise to my talons, but my body ached with effort and I only managed to move a few inches with my sore muscles.

Jewel was standing over me with a concerned look. apparently during my unconscious state, both of us were placed in our artificial hollow within the artificial habitat.

"Wh-what h.. Happened?" I asked as I returned her gaze.

"You did it Blu, you did it.." She responded back as she nudged me lovingly.

My mind recollected the previous nights events as she finished her sentence. How did we escape such a terrible fate? We both were indeed lucky birds, but I realized that the past week and a half was nothing short of extremely lucky.

I found the love of my life, and I proved time and time again that I was capable of protecting her. Sure we'd been through a lot, but in the end we both found true love.

"I love you, Jewel." I broke the silence, catching her off guard. I must have had a funny sound to my voice because she just smiled back, "I know Blu, I know... I love you too."

"Where's some food?" I asked as my stomach growled ravenously. We both laughed at the sound, and Jewel turned away, leaving me for a few moments before retrieving slices of various ripe fruit.

"Tulio said it'll take a couple days for both of us to be back to prime health, and until that time we must both stay and rest in this hollow. He's having fruit delivered at regular intervals." Jewel informed me as she took a bite for herself.

I managed to lean myself up with the combined effort of both my wings and talons, "Guess we'll just have to rest until then... So you're pregnant I hear..."

...

That night we entered the realm of sleep together, I was extremely thankful for the few days time of rest we stumbled upon, and as a result I started dreaming.

In that dream, many visions of the future played through my head.

Hopefully, once we both healed, we'd return to the forest and start out new lives.

We'd have many children perhaps. We'd teach them the ways of the jungle, important lessons in life, and shape them into strong, courageous birds.

Through deep nights of rain, or sunny days on the beach, we'd have each other and that's the only thing we'd ever need.

Our beautiful hollow across the giant waterfall would be our new home, soon to be filled with eggs promising future life.

We'd have the occasional petty argument, and perhaps fight a little ever now and again.

But most importantly, our love would only grow stronger as the rest of our lives played out.

All of these things and many more I envisioned. Our future was truly bright, and I pledged to myself that day that I'd forever fight for the one I called my mate. My true, eternal love.

* * *

**Haha, again I wrote this chapter in about an hour and a half. I should put more effort, but I don't have much time anymore, so the mistakes will happen... Just go with it please. I'll leave you to use your imagination for the rest of their future... Or just another story ;)**

**Review anybody? Pwease :(?**


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